All I Need To Know
by Atlantic Jewel
Summary: I swear, this has gotta be my last one...the sequel to Garaa's Repentance. A certain STAR comes back to get what she wants even if it means breaking Emma and Kankurou apart when everyone's trying to get engaged... I finally finished it!
1. Who’s Who In Konoha & Suna Prt 1

NARUTO

All I Need To Know

CHAPTER ONE

Who's Who In Konoha & Suna Prt. 1

After a lot of deliberation I, MegitsuneNinjaHiddenInThePaddocks, decided to create one last story in the Naruto-Logy, therefore making it a Quadrilopy. Starting off with _Sacrificial Bonds_, which told of the heartache experienced when Garaa was possessed by a demon-god, and three high school students from another world were caught in the middle of it. After they went back to their own world, _Nobody Knows The Truth_ took place, where the ninjas of the Naruto World travelled to the world of the three teenagers, and Kankurou rekindled his flame of romance with one of them. The three teenagers made a very difficult decision in the end to go back with their ninja friends to their own world forever and, soon after that, _Garaa's Repentance_ took place, where Garaa was confronted by the past, and nearly received the death-penalty by two female assassins, but Kankurou's lover Emma turned things around with a simple wish, and everyone was happy. Well, not everyone. I realised that there was somebody who hadn't had their feelings cleared up yet, somebody who was almost demanding for a story of her very own. And so, I created this final chapter in the Naruto-Logy, _All I Need To Know_. So, let's find out who we're dealing with this time around, shall we…

MEG: Okay everybody, listen up!

SASUKE: Yeah, yeah, we're listening, so just get on with it, already!

MEG: Man-ners! Listen closely! I want each and every single one of you to introduce one of the others – and you may NOT introduce somebody you're really close to!

CHOUJI: What? That's not fair! Why can't we?

MEG: Because I said so. And because everyone wants to see just how close you've all become. So, everybody write your names on this piece of random paper – we're using the random-line method, again!

EVERYBODY: Aaww, man!

Meg switches on the radio, and plays everybody's theme songs for their introductions…

Emma Introduces…Sore!

_Fly, by Hilary Duff (In a moment, everything can change…feel the wind on your shoulder…for a minute, all the world can wait…let go of yesterday!)_

**Sore's name means 'sky', and she is from the Hidden Mist Village, which is kinda like the sky. Plus, she finally let go of what happened in the past…**

"Sore, well, what can I say about her? She's one of our newest friends, and her full name is Kaguya Sore of the Hidden Mist Village. She's the last remaining member of the Kaguya Clan – and she uses Shikotsu Myaku, which means Corpse Bone Pathways. So, she can create any kind of weapon from the bones in her body! It's kinda creepy…

Sore doesn't _look_ one bit creepy, however. She looks really, really sweet! Her skin is very pale, and she gives off the impression of a fragile doll. She has long black hair and ice blue eyes with darker flecks in them. She's extremely quiet most of the time, except for when she's fighting. Then she adopts a sort of second nature, which could come from her inner-demon, Gobi Kurasu, the five-tailed crow. Gobi Kurasu seems to add to Sore's powers, but Sore has a lot of control over her inner-demon, which isn't as dangerous as some of the others.

For awhile, though, Sore was definitely a _major_ threat to our friend, Garaa. You see, Sore was brought up with the Kinuta family of the Hidden Sound Village, where she became best friends with Kinuta Ai and fell in love with Kinuta Dosu. But, after Garaa killed Dosu during the Chunnin Exams, Sore and Ai made it their duty to kill Garaa to avenge Dosu. If I hadn't used my final wish to bring Dosu back from the dead, then I don't know what Sore and Ai would have done to Garaa. Sore feels deeply for what she attempted to do, but we all understand why she felt that way. And now that she's got Dosu back, the two of them are always together – she's very practical and calm towards him, and can calm him down when the rest of us can't…

If I had to say just one thing about you, Sore-San, then it would be that you are as mysterious and beautiful as the mist itself!"

SORE: Oh, thankyou Emma-San, that is very sweet of you…

Sore Introduces…Sasuke!

_Easier To Run, by Linkin Park (It's easier to run, replacing this pain with something more, it's easier to run, then face all this pain here on my own!)_

**Sasuke's past was filled with loneliness and terror. Would it have been easier for the Uchiha boy to have run away from it all, and never moved forward so that there'd never be a past?**

"I do not really know Sasuke Uchiha very well. The first time we met was when my inner-demon transported everyone involved in the fight that night to a deserted plain. I already knew Sasuke's older brother, Itachi, and his counterpart, Kisame. I believe that Sasuke is _still_ trying to come to terms with the fact that Itachi and Kisame have now been changed back into babies!

Because Itachi, when they were both just kids, murdered the entire Uchiha Clan save for Sasuke – he told Sasuke that he wasn't even worth killing. Because of this, Sasuke grew up lonely and bitter, and resented his brother. He called himself an avenger, which I know a great deal about, and vowed to kill Itachi for what he did. I don't think he's going to do that anymore…

A lot of the girls that I know like/liked Sasuke. I guess he's pretty good-looking, he has shiny black hair and dark brown eyes, and a sort of cool and calm attitude. He's very strong, and has a lot of common knowledge. Like all Uchiha members, he uses the Sharingan Eye, which makes his eyes look red when he uses it.

Sasuke's former team is Kakashi Hatake's team seven, comprised of Sasuke, Naruto Uzumaki, and Sakura Haruno. Sakura had a crush on Sasuke for the longest time, but Sasuke is now dating another girl called Ino Yamanaka. Sasuke is also constantly locking horns with Naruto, and calls him _bozu_ a lot.

Sasuke-San, I would say that despite what you went through before, you've turned things around so that you've got everything going for you!"

SASUKE: Alright Sore-San, just _what_ have I got going for me now?

Sasuke Introduces…Mari!

_C'est La Vie, by BWitched (Say you will – say you won't! Say you'll do what I don't! Say you're true – say to me, gotta say, C'est La Vie!)_

**Mari's as fun-loving and happy-go-lucky as this song suggests she is, and she always seems to be happy except…when she's…not…**

"I first met Mari back before the Chunnin Exams, when she was hanging around with the sand siblings. Mari is a very strange girl for a number of reasons, but mainly this – she comes from another world, called planet earth. She's also hyperactive at times, and rational at others. She changes moods as often as she changes her favourite outfits!

In looks, I'd say Mari has a fairly attractive figure (which she didn't always have). Her hair is honey-chestnut, and her eyes are sea-green. She has a piercing just above her lip, and a tattoo on her forehead that matches Garaa's. Mari's skin is really super-tanned, and her Jutsus are mainly healing ones, which were taught to her by Temari. Mari's favourite colours are pink and yellow, and she sued to be _really_ scared of fish, but now she's not. She's still scared of the dark, though…

Mari's very best friends are from her home planet, and they are Emma and Kai. Mari lived with her Grandma because her parents abandoned her and, when her Grandma passed away and her parents wanted her back, Mari wouldn't go! Now she's quite happily living with Tenten in Konoha, and she's really good at art and cooking. Speaking of which, Mari also seems to get along _very_ well with Chouji Akamichi – the two of them are, as far as I can tell, dating on the regular.

Mari-San, I've gotta say, you're one hell of a strange and yet unique character, with the attention span of a gnat!"

MARI: Oh, jeez, _thanks_ Sasuke-Kun…speaking of which…

Mari Introduces…Shino!

_Time Of Your Life, from A Bugs Life (Once a bug, a little bug, hardly there, at all…)_

**Shino's clan is associated with bug familiars and people sometimes don't notice him because he hides all small behind his jackets and sunglasses…**

"Shino Aburame has got to be one of the most mysterious people I've ever met! If I didn't already know so much about him, then I wouldn't have been able to figure out how to get to know him as well as I have! Here goes…

Shino, being of the Aburame Clan, lets insects feed on his Chakra, like all members of his clan. The insects, in turn, help Shino out all of the time, and he can understand what they're saying to him, too. Seriously here, Shino is the strongest out of the old nine rookies, but he doesn't let it get to his head which is good…

Shino covers up his face and eyes with a high-collared trench-coat and round black sunglasses. He _never_ shows anyone his face, particularly his eyes, and none of us can quite figure out why that is. Maybe he has a tattoo or a piercing. But one thing I can safely say I know for sure about Shino is that he is _addicted_ to Red Bull energy drinks. And we have yours truly to thank for that…

Overall, Shino-San, I would say that if you were a bug, then you would be either a Praying Mantis or a Helmet-Head-Beetle!"

SHINO: …

Shino Introduces…Kin!

_The Right Time, by The Corrs (Now something has entered my mind, shadowing all of my thoughts…it's no good, it's just one big waste of my time – but what can I do to recall?)_

**Kin was working for Lord Orichimaru and, therefore, he was like a shadow on her mind. What can she do to recall herself, and how she should truly be?**

"Kin was one of the four people brought back to life by Emma. She was sacrificed by Lord Orichimaru along with Zaku, who was one of her team-mates along with Kinuta Dosu. I had very little contact with Kin until she was resurrected by Emma, but I've managed to learn a great deal about her which I think you should know…

Just after her old team mate Dosu was brought back from the dead, Kin revealed to us all that her Mother's Mother was the cousin of Sore's Grandmother, which means that Kin and Sore are related. Not only that, but Kin also has this amazing ability now that she's been to the Spirit World Cahan 1 and back. She can communicate telepathically with any one of the tailed-demons in our world. And because our group now has four of them, Kin has a lot of demons to talk to…

In looks, Kin is a very attractive young lady. Her hair is black and her eyes are misty grey or steel grey, depending on who's looking at them. Kin's boyfriend Kai says misty. Kai fell in love with Kin and started writing her poetry just after we got back to Konoha. After Kin found out that Kai liked her, they started to date, and Kin fell in love with Kai. That's the way the world works somehow. Kin is also a very strong shinobi, and doesn't like to back down from a battle.

On the whole, Kin-San, I'd say that you _fly like a butterfly, and sting like a European Wasp…_

KIN: Was that supposed to be a compliment, Shino-San?

Kin Introduces…Sakura!

_Boys, by The Saddle Club (I know a boy, who I think is really gorgeous, but he doesn't know I'm there – and he doesn't know I care…I knew a boy, who was always so annoying! He was everywhere I'd go – he tried to kiss me, I said no!)_

**Sakura, whose name means cherry blossom, was always chasing after Sasuke, and seemed annoyed that Lee wanted her to be his girlfriend!**

"Haruno Sakura is living proof that there is such thing as boy-angst…

Seriously, Sakura let her silly little crush over Sasuke Uchiha drive her and her best friend Ino apart. But Sasuke and Lee managed to get the two girls to be friends again. Then, Sasuke started dating Ino, and Lee and Sakura fell in love. So…

I knew Sakura a little from the Chunnin Exams but we've grown much closer now, since my team, Ai, Sore and I moved in next-door to her and Ino. Sakura loves the colour pink, which may be why her hair's that shade. It may also have something to do with her love of cherry blossoms, which stems from her name's meaning. Sakura's eyes are green, and she likes to wear red as well.

Sakura's shinobi skills branch more out to common knowledge then physical strength, but she's an ace at healing Jutsus and controlling her Chakra levels, which is a good thing if you have to work with Sasuke and Naruto…

All up, Sakura-San, I'm glad that I'm getting a second chance to get to know you, because you're bright and friendly, even if you _are_ worse then Naruto!"

SAKURA: Hey! Is that you Kin-San, because for a moment I thought maybe it was _Sasuke_…

Sakura Introduces…Garaa!

_Burn, by The Rasmus (Fear of the dark, tears me apart, won't leave me alone, time keeps running out, I just want my life, I'm so sick and tired, of singing the blues…I should turn my life around…)_

**Garaa's name, basically, means death. He could never sleep because of his demon, which wouldn't leave him be. He really just wanted to get his life back on track…**

"If you asked me whether Garaa made a good first impression on me or not, then I'd yell NO! I first saw Garaa when he was wiping the floor with my now-boyfriend, Rock Lee. Garaa almost cost Lee his life, and worse, his _ambition_…

But with Garaa, I could write his life-story in two sections – BC and AD. That's Before Capture and Almost Dying.

Garaa had the one-tailed demon Shukaku sealed within him at birth and so, therefore, everyone in his village was scared of him and hated him. He grew up alone and, the final straw came when his Uncle tried to kill him. Garaa decided that he could only love himself, burned the sand-created tattoo Kanji for 'love' onto his forehead, and killed a whole lot of people. If he hadn't been on the same team as his siblings, Temari and Kankurou, then I think Garaa would've been killed when Suna and Konoha were at war.

Nowadays, however, Garaa's a whole lot better. He's decided that he wants to use his powers to protect people, and has stepped into his late Father's shoes as the Kazekage of the Hidden Sand Village. Recently, however, Garaa almost 'kicked-the-bucket' when the demon Shukaku was removed from his body. Luckily, an old woman brought him back from the brink of death, and I think Emma, Kin and Sore are hunting down the people who stole Shukaku away from Garaa. Now Garaa's almost completely changed, but he's still moody, secretive and quiet. He has blood-red hair and green eyes with dark marks all around them because he was never able to sleep or Shukaku would take over. He's really small – in fact, he's the same height as Emma, but weighs two more kilograms then what she does. I'm _surrounded_ by stick insects…

Garaa-Sama, all I've gotta say is that I'm _so_ glad I don't have to be scared of you anymore, and I'm glad that you've _finally_ managed to figure out how to get your life back on track!"

GARAA: Thank you Sakura-San.

Garaa Introduces…Kai!

_Let's Get Married, who sings this, I dunno, but it's not me… (Meet me at the alter, in a white dress! We ain't getting' no younger, so we might as well do this! Let's get married, girl let's just get married!)_

**Kai's name is another form for king and Kai tends to act like one. He's also a bit girl-crazy, and there's always one girl or another who he wants to marry!**

"Kai and I hated each other right off at bat. He was always indifferent towards me, and suspicious of whatever I did. I suppose he can't really be blamed, I did try to kill him one time, but that's in the past now.

So, the Kai nowadays? A whole lot less competitive and judgemental. He's given up on my sister, Temari, and moved onto that Sound Ninja, Kin. Kai likes writing poetry, mostly about Kin, and he likes to create art of everyone on his lap top computer. Kai's an impressive ninja, to the degree that he can _almost_ beat Kankurou – almost! He and Kankurou are still a bit edgy with each other, kinda like a triangle, what's that one called where none of the sides are even? Scalene! That's it! Kai recently said that he wants to become strong enough to defeat Kankurou, something I'd pay _good money_ to witness and record!

Kai comes from a place called earth and, on earth, he was born in Thailand. So he has light-cocoa-coloured skin, almond shaped eyes that are a deep wood brown and black hair. Strangely enough, he looks a lot like Rock Lee. Kai's girlfriend is Kin, and his best friends are Emma and Mari. He lives in the same house as Shino, Chouji, Kiba, Akamaru and Shikamaru.

Are we friends now, Kai-Kun? Because I still do not really know what it is to be a friend…but I think that maybe we are…"

KAI: Garaa-Sama, who cares if we're friends or not [maybe we are… I just wanna kick the crap out of your brother!

Kai Introduces…Chouji!

_Macho Man, by The Village People (Macho macho man! I've got to be, a macho man!)_

**Chouji is pretty big-boned, and when he's not eating he tries to be all tough – just like a macho man! He's one of the people from the Hidden Leaf Village.**

"Never in your life call Chouji Akamichi fat, because it will seriously be the last thing you _ever_ do! (If he's so sensitive about his weight, then why doesn't he just diet or something???)

Despite all of that, Mari seems to just love Chouji. I've seen them kiss a few times, which is freaky because Mari's my best friend and now she's in love! But I guess that she and Chouji _do_ have a whole lot in common…

They both _love_ to eat, and I've also seen Chouji pull a whole _chocolate cake_ from that little bag of his!

What I've seen of Chouji's fighting power is that he has these three tablets and, each time he takes one, he gets stronger, but it's also pretty dangerous. But I do know that he'd much rather eat then fight, and he's been helping Mari cook in the kitchen a lot lately – Mari comes over almost every single night, and sometimes she even _spends_ the night. Enough said, really…

Chouji-Kun, my portly little friend, you'd better treat my Mari right, otherwise I'll make you suffer in the form of harsh exercise and no desserts (I did that to Mari once…)!"

CHOUJI: NNNNNNNOOOOOOO!!!!!!!


	2. Who’s Who In Konoha & Suna Prt 2

NARUTO

NARUTO

All I Need To Know

CHAPTER TWO

Who's Who In Konoha & Suna Prt. 2

Chouji Introduces…Tenten!

_Any Man Of Mine, by Shania Twain (Any man of mine, had better walk the line! Better show me a teasin', squeezin', pleasing kinda time! I need a man who knows how the story goes! It's gotta be a heart-beating, mind-taking, earth-quaking, breath-taking time…any man of mine!)_

**Tenten seems to have fairly eccentric standards about what her man should be, since she's pretty eccentric herself!**

"Add ten-ten together and you get twenty! Twenty rhymes with plenty and _one_ Tenten is plenty, thank you very much! Tenten could be described as being a Yin-Yang symbol, especially when you shove her over there somewhere with her boyfriend, Neji Hyuga!

Tenten is as much as a tomboy as she is feminine! One minute she'll be happy wearing a dress, the next she'll be slipping back into a polo shirt! She wears her dark brown hair tied up in a panda-style, has chocolate-coloured eyes (mmm, chocolate…) and her skin is just an extra shade darker to match her hair and eyes. She just got a whole lot stronger as a shinobi, and last I saw her she nearly killed Neji during a sparring-session!

Tenten could be called The Weapons Mistress of our land; I've honestly _never_ seen one person know how to use so many weapons! Tenten uses a special Jutsu from the scroll on her back to summon any weapon she pleases, from shuriken throwing-stars to razor-sharp katana! She _does_ have a really caring and sweet side, however, and that's evident in that _she's_ the one who's taking care of baby Kisame at the moment! She recently told Neji that she thought Kisame had his white eyes…??

Well, I know how much you liked to be called this, so here goes – where's my extra serving of roast lamb, Tenten-Kun?!"

TENTEN: Do the words _Mr._ Piggle-Wiggle 2 mean anything to you, Chouji-Kun?

Tenten Introduces…Naruto!

_I'm Still Here, by Johnny Reznik (I want a moment to be real, wanna touch things I don't feel, wanna hold on – and feel I belong! And how can the world want me to change? They're the ones that stay the same! All alone now – but I'm still here!)_

**Naruto is the name of a kind of food, and also a bridge on earth, in Japan (there's also one in his world, too). Naruto always wanted to belong, and he does not want to change for everyone else!**

"Naruto + Sakura or Naruto + Sasuke or Naruto + Ino or Naruto + Shikamaru or Naruto + Kiba ONE HELL OF A LIGHTSABER DUEL! I kid you not! Naruto is one of the most annoying people in the whole of Konoha (except for maybe Lee) but he's not without his good reasons…

Naruto had the nine-tailed fox-demon sealed within him just after he was born. This Kyuubi was attacking the village, and people were scared of it. So, a lot of people believed the demon and Naruto to be the same, and shunned him away. Naruto was really lonely, and an orphan at that, so he played tricks and jokes to get attention, like vandalising the carvings of our Lord Hokages. But things turned around for him when, with the help of his former sensei Iruka, he became a Genin, and joined Kakashi's team seven with Sakura and Sasuke. After Naruto found out about his inner-demon, there were a few times when it 'came out to play', but Naruto seems to have good control over it, which is good! He also aspires to be the next Hokage! Go for it!

Now, Naruto is a typical blonde-bimbo-guy, with spiky hair and baby blue eyes. He _always_ wears orange, whether it's a jumpsuit or a yukata, and he has whiskers on his face from Kyuubi. He's grown up a bit; he's a tad more mature. He has to be, because he's a Father! And I gotta say, he's a pretty good one at that! But he's still loud and hyperactive, and he's still in love with ramen, but that takes second-place to his girlfriend, Hyuga Hinata!

Naruto-Chan, all I've gotta say to you is that Cahan help us if your kid turns out like you!"

NARUTO: Hey! That's not very nice, Tenten-San! You'll hurt my Little Angel's feelings!

Naruto Introduces…Dosu!

_Angels Brought Me Here, by Guy Sebastian (how does this one go?? That angels brought me here…)_

**Well, Dosu was dead for awhile, but then Emma wished him back to life with the help of Sore, Ai and Bond. Are they all angels?**

"Kinuta Dosu is a ninja from the Hidden Sound village and, when we first met him, he was trying to kill us! Dosu's like that – very coarse and strong, and he's one heck'ova strong shinobi! It's a big shock that he and the quiet Mist Ninja Sore are in love! But when Garaa killed Dosu during the Chunnin Exams, Sore travelled a long way to avenge his death. Luckily, Emma brought Dosu back to life with a wish, and he and Sore are together again!

Dosu has one sister, called Ai and their last name, Kinuta, apparently means a wooden block for beating clothe. What the?? Dosu's first name means the sound of a sword hitting something, which is perfect because Dosu's personality is razor-sharp, just like a samurai sword!

Dosu wears bandages on his head, I'm not sure why, but Emma reckons that Dosu has a weird moustache or something! We _do_ know that his hair is a dark brown colour, and his eyes (we can only see one) are also dark brown. Pretty plain, if you ask me. But then, when he's using his Sound Ninja Jutsus at the speed of sound, you don't really pay attention to what he looks like – believe it!

Dosu-Kun, good to have you back, because you seem to have changed for the better! I'm glad you got a second chance, but you'd better watch out because one day I'll be stronger then you! I'll drop a bombshell on your 'now-I'm-alive-again-parade'!"

DOSU: Naruto-Kun, you are just a little kid and cannot possibly _hope_ to defeat me! But I would _love_ to see you try – course' I'd love to see you as a crater!

Dosu Introduces…Lee!

_Back On My Feet Again, by Michael Bolton (When I'm back on my feet again…I'll walk proud down the street again…and they'll all look at me again…and they'll see that I'm strong!)_

**Apparently Garaa crippled Lee so badly with his Sand Coffin, that Lee was practically paralysed. He has always been determined, and so he continued to train, even though it nearly killed him.**

"Rock Lee…what can I say about this jerk…err…guy? Guy, there's a good start! Lee's hero is his Sensei, Mighty Gai, and he looks and dresses almost _exactly_ like him! (Shudder!) It's not too bad, and I have to admit that he's pretty strong. Which one? Err…both…

Now, both Lee and Gai wear green all of the time, and they both wear that vesty-thingie. Their hair, according to Mari, makes them look like The Beatles, and they have enough eyebrows for Garaa, according to Emma. And when they smile, everyone is blinded by the cha-ching of light! It hurts, but I can take it.

Lee's ninja training is a bit of a story. He doesn't known Genjutsu or Ninjutsu, only Taijutsu, so that should be a real set-back, right? Wrong! This Lee kid's as fast as lightning, and some of his signature moves even I couldn't pull off! Quite possibly he's most famous for being able to open a few of his eight Chakra Gateways (I could if I wanted to do) and for going out with Haruno Sakura, which he's always dreamed of.

Lee-Kun, I'll say this – that you're one hell of an annoying individual, but at least nobody ever forgets your face or Gai's…"

LEE: Thankyou Dosu-Kun, oh brand new youthful friend of mine!

SAKURA: I have warned you about that youthfulness stuff…

Lee Introduces…Temari!

_Love Blonde, by Kim Wilde (She's a love blonde! She's got that sensuality…)_

**Well, Temari's a blonde alright, and she seems to fit in with the feel of the song, a sort of jazzy theme…**

"Temari, who is the eldest sister of Garaa and Kankurou, is one of the Hidden Sand Village Kunoichi, and one of their strongest warriors! Temari, as the eldest sibling, seems to look out for her two brothers, and is able o calm most people down with just a few simple words. Temari _always_ says what's on her mind, and in battle she is lethal.

To fight, Temari uses the giant fan on her back to attack her enemies, and she's as good at close-range attacks as she is at long-distance. She's very coarse when she's fighting, and doesn't hesitate to render the enemy unconscious, but I don't think I've ever seen her kill anybody. But she battled – and won – against Tenten in the Chunnin Exams, and I've also seen her lose her temper when she's annoyed, and then she's dangerous!

In looks, Temari is actually quite pretty (not as pretty as Sakura, of course!) with four spiky blonde pigtails the colour of sand, and blue-green eyes. Her boyfriend is Shikamaru and, as one would expect, Temari just gave birth to a baby boy, named Kamari! How y…y_oung_…

Temari-San, I am so happy for you! You are a happy and strong person, and an excellent Mother!"

TEMARI: Thanks Lee-Kun…I think…actually, that freaked me out…

Temari Introduces…Zaku!

_Savin' Me, by Nickelback (Show me what it's like to be the last one standing, and teach me wrong from right, and I'll show you what I can be! And say it for me, say it to me, and I'll leave this life behind me, say it if it's worth savin' me…)_

**Zaku needed somebody to show him the right way, so that he could leave all of the evil behind him…**

"Zaku is another one of the three Hidden Sound Ninja brought back to life by Emma. He is another of those rough, coarse say-whatever-I-want kind of onmitsu, which would usually annoy me but Motherhood must agree with me. Anyway, I see that Zaku is actually a fairly nice guy, but he has a very look-ou-for-number-one attitude. That's why he gets along so well with Ai, because she's like that too. I'm sure they're going out (and if not, then why not?).

When he fights, Zaku doesn't care what the consequences of his actions are. He moves faster then the speed of sound, and has a special jutsu using the sound waves from the holes in his arms (what the?). In all it is, Zaku just wants to be strong, but didn't realise that Lord Orichimaru was just using him. Like my first brother, Zaku doesn't like to be mocked. Question his strength or masculinity, and you will die.

Zaku's hair looks like he touched a spark plug.

SHIKAMARU: Uh, okay, and yours would be??

In serious need of a perm…

Anyway, Zaku's hair is big, spiky, and a light-brown colour. His eyes are dark brown, and he's actually pretty cute (although Shika's way cuter). He's best friends with Dosu, and was on the same team as him and Kin.

All over, Zaku-Kun, I'd say you're an alright kinda guy…if you like the whole bow-down-before-me-because-I-am-your-God kinda thing…"

ZAKU: You take that back slave!

TEMARI: Bastard!

ZAKU: Bitch!

TEMARI: Bitch-bastard!

ZAKU: …

TEMARI: Ha! Check and mate!

Zaku Introduces…Ino!

_Stole, by Kelly Roland (She could've been a movie star, never had the chance to go that far, cause' life was stone-cold, now we'll never know…)_

**This song also mentions a male…Ino's Sensei just got killed by Hidan…**

"Ino Yamanaka…by far one of the more annoying individuals I've ever had the misfortune to meet…but she's not all that bad. She was really boy-crazy back then, but now that she's dating Sasuke Uchiha, she seems to have calmed down a bit. She and Sakura are best friends again, and now Ino and Sasuke are taking care of Itachi Uchiha, Sasuke's brother who was turned back into a baby. Sasuke's not happy. Ino is. She likes little kids, and is expressing wishes to becoming a paediatrician so that she can help them.

That's one of Ino's skills, healing jutsus. She's also got this thing called a Mind Transfer Jutsu, where she can take control of whatever body she wants. She used it on Kin once, but Dosu and I just attacked her anyway. The downsides are that whatever happens to her host happens to her, and her body is vulnerable to attacks when it happens. But she still likes to use it. She used it on _me_ a few days ago! It was _freaky_…

Ino has long white blonde hair that she ties up in a ponytail, and has a bit of fringe hanging down across her pearly green eyes. She likes to wear purple, and she lives with Sakura, Sasuke and Lee.

Ino-San, overall, you're pretty eccentric, but stylish, I guess…"

INO: Thanks a lot Zaku-Kun!

Ino Introduces…Ai!

_This Is How You Remind Me, by Nickelback (This is how you remind me, of what I really am! It's not like you, to say sorry, once waitin' on a different story, this time I'm mistaken, for handing you a heart worth breaking, and I've been wrong, I've been down, to the bottom of every bottom, it's like words in my head, screamin' are we having fun yet?)_

**Ai is one person who can control Zaku somewhat, and remind him that he's special to her…**

"Ai is a Kinuta, the sister of Dosu and the foster sister of Sore. She's a real individual, she does everything her own way, and whatever she sets her mind to she can do. This is good, except when it involved trying to kill Garaa, for killing her brother. Ai can use a katana, and her physical strength and speed, being from the Hidden Sound Village, are extremely high.

Surprisingly, Ai is a very gentle person outside of battle, and is best friends with Sore. She's the one who steps in when Sore gets too annoyed with Kankurou, and she's also taking care of baby Kisame. She's really nice, but she doesn't like to be hindered by anything when she's going for gold. She's very resourceful.

Ai's looks fall somewhere in-between tomboy and mature girl. Her long hair is dark brown (almost black), and so are her eyes. She has very strong muscles and is pretty tall, but she also very graceful, and likes to ride horses. She wears bandages on her head, much like her brother's, but not over her eyes.

Ai-San, you're pretty cool, I'm so glad we can be friends now!"

AI: Thanks Ino-San, and same to you too!

Ai Introduces…Kankurou!

_Lips Of An Angel, by Hinder (It's really good to hear your voice, sayin' my name, it sounds so sweet, coming from the lips of an angel, hearing those words it makes me weak…)_

**Association from the first time I heard that song…**

"Kankurou is the middle sibling of the sand siblings, and the older brother of the one I once tried to kill. Now, it seems that Sore's wants to kill Kankurou, because Kankurou didn't forgive us for trying to kill Garaa. Typical men. The only person who can honestly say they're close to Kankurou is his girlfriend, Emma, and the two of them are so in love it's really cute!

Kankurou is a puppet master, and uses jutsu enhanced puppets to fight. The only problem is that if they get destroyed, then he's stranded. He can also use this thing called Bunraku, which creates these really strong jutsu puppet strings, and I think Emma uses it too. Kankurou flies off the handle if – you insult his abilities or his masculinity, you damage one of his puppets, or there's a little kid around. Kankurou does not like kids.

As far as looks go, I'd say Kankurou is pretty attractive. He's got light golden-brown hair, and dark brown eyes. He usually wears this red-purple facepaint like a Kabuki mask, because of the whole puppet thing, and black robes and a horned-hood. In all honesty, the only people he's really that close to are his siblings and Emma. He's a friendly guy though, and he'll probably be your best friend if you make him a hamburger!

Kankurou-Kun, you're pretty cool, but lay off the rivalry with Sore, okay?"

KANKUROU: Hmm…no!

AI: Typical…

Kankurou Introduces…Hinata!

_I Ain't Goin' Down, by Shania Twain (Cause' love got me through the day, and every night I'd pray, I could keep her in love, at night I'd lie awake and cry, hoping we'd get by, and for the courage to grow…)_

**Hinata just had a baby, but it's not always so easy…love helps…**

"Hyuga Hinata is the shy kunoichi of the Hyuga household. She is the older sister of Hanabi, and the cousin of Neji. She used to be really, really shy and stammered a lot, so what changed? She and Naruto had a baby! How terrible…uh…for someone else…but for them I guess it was okay. They called it…err…her…Chou-Chou, Chou meaning butterfly, and Naruto moved in with Hinata.

As a fighter, Hinata's not the strongest, but she certainly has a few bloodline traits that make her a good ninja. One is Bayakugan, the Hyuga Clan bloodline trait, and she recently learned some healing jutsus from Mari. But Hinata, whose name means sunny day, is really just a calm and happy person, so she probably doesn't _need_ fighting…

Hinata grew her black hair long, and her eyes are still white, like all the Hyuga Clan. She's small, almost as small as Emma and Mari, and extremely petite and graceful. She's _finally_ learning how to stand up for herself, and she's able to keep a firm rein on that boyfriend of hers.

Hinata-San, you're a nice person and all, but I feel so sorry for you."

HINATA: Umm…why?

Hinata Introduces…Shikamaru!

_Sugar We're Going Down, by Fallout Boy (And sugar we're going down swingin', I'll be your number one with a bullet, a loaded God complex cock it and pull it…)_

**One basic part of this song relates back to when Kai was jealous of the relationship between Shikamaru and Temari…**

"Shikamaru is one of the members of the former team of Ino and Chouji. He was their leader, and even now he seems to assert a quiet authority, but his favourite saying is still 'how troublesome'…

Shikamaru has a cool jutsu that lets him control another person through their shadow, which I heard he used on Dosu Kinuta once. His jutsu is similar to one of his friend's, Ino, and he's recently become a whole lot stronger, which is great for him.

It's also good for his new family, his girlfriend Temari of the desert, and their baby boy Kamari. He can protect them now if need be. Shikamaru is still pretty lazy, but he just seems to take things in his stride, and nothing seems to faze him!

Shikamaru-Kun, I've known you for so many years, but I'm glad we'll continue to be friends…"

SHIKAMARU: Ditto, Hinata-San. God…how troublesome…an introduction…

Shikamaru Introduces…Neji!

_Be A Man, from Mulan (Be a man, you must be swift as a coursing river, with all the force of a great typhoon, with all the strength of a raging fire, mysterious as the dark side of the moon!)_

**Neji's always trying to become stronger, just like everybody else!**

"Neji is best known as Hinata's cousin, and as the leader of Team Gai. He's also one of the strongest ninjas in Konoha, along with Sasuke and Shino. He has become a very strong and loyal onmitsu, and he's very reliable. He is best friends with Emma, and the boyfriend of Tenten. He doesn't get along with Garaa and Kankurou (mainly because he once tried to steal Emma from Kankurou) but Tenten has a hold over him!

Neji seems to be a lot stronger then his cousin, Hinata, and uses the same Bayakugan as her. He is also physically strong as well, and he's very fast, both in movement and in words. He has a lot of good comebacks…

Neji has the same white eyes as all the Hyugas, and long dark brown-black hair. Now that he's got a girlfriend, and some recognition, he seems to feel a lot more special, which he never seemed to believe he was. Whatever…

Neji-San, all up you're okay, strong and all, but also way too troublesome to handle…"

NEJI: I'm gonna ignore that…

TENTEN: Well done!

Neji Introduces…Kiba!

_Together Forever, from Pokemon (Together forever, no matter how long, from now until the end of time…)_

**That's Kiba and Akamaru, together forever!**

"Kiba is another of the Konoha Rookie 9, and the team-mate of Shino and Hinata. One thing about Kiba is this: he is almost NEVER seen without his dog, Akamaru. Akamaru got a whole lot bigger. He no longer sits on Kiba's head; instead, Kiba rides on Akamaru's back.

Kiba, when he's fighting, employs all of the viciousness of his clan's canine traits, and I've seen him take a hit and shrug it off. He then _bit_ the person. Yup, feral. Surprisingly, Kiba is now best friends with Emma and Mari (I think he likes Emma a little bit, but not enough to love her) but he hasn't ever had a girlfriend. He's best mates with Shino, though, and good friends with Shikamaru, Chouji and Kai, and they all share the same house.

Kiba has sort of spiky longish dark brown hair, and dark brown eyes. He wears red facepaint on his face, and recently acquired a dog-tag from somewhere. Kiba sticks up for Akamaru, and he'd kill anyone who tried to hurt Akamaru. That's best friends for ya!

Kiba-Kun, all in all, you're probably more canine then Akamaru is, but that's okay because it's a dog-owner thing, I guess…"

KIBA: Too right it is, Hyuga-Kun!

Kiba Introduces…Emma!

_Hero, by Chad Kroger (And they say that a hero can save us, I'm not gonna stand here and wait, I hold onto the wings of an eagle, watch as they all fly away…)_

**Well, Temari's a blonde alright, and she seems to fit Emma has a pet bird, she's scared of heights but has always wanted to fly, and she needed a hero…which she got…**

"Emma is one of the three who came to earth, along with Mari and Kai, but she's by far the strongest of them all. In fact, as the Hidden Sand Village's new 'hidden-weapon', she's such a kick-ass kunoichi that she's probably the strongest of us all! Well, I can even say that I think she's stronger then Naruto and Garaa (but not as strong as me – ha!)…

Actually, Emma hasn't had the best life. A tailed-demon killed her parents who were replaced with Lord Orichimaru's clones, and they abused her and tried to cut her throat. Emma was also teased a lot as a kid, just like Garaa, so it's no surprise that the two of them are now best friends. The tailed-demon, Tatsujuu, is still inside of Emma, but it has many different forms, I think its evil form died. Emma rarely uses what she calls its 'twelve-starred-power', she prefers to use her trademark Aoi Fire jutsu, as well as Bunraku which she shares with Kankurou, and her transportation jutsu, Masuiki, which she created herself, but she says she can't control it properly. Her skill would probably be suppressing her Chakra, except when she's lost control of it, which doesn't happen that often. Kankurou bought Emma a bird before we left Earth, a blue parrot that she named Jaws, after the plant Kankurou _ate_…it tried to eat him…

I dunno if I'm allowed to say this, but everyone considers Emma to be the most attractive girl in both of our worlds. She's small, only five foot, and weighs less than 38kg. Her hair is dark brown with streaks, and her eyes are hazel-green. She's usually very calm and friendly, but she does get upset easily. She's pretty shy, but she's fine when she's around Kankurou, her boyfriend. Sometimes I think that Kankurou doesn't give her enough space…I guess he's just scared that she'll go out and _die_ again, but still... Emma likes horses, singing and puppets, and the people she trusts the most are Kankurou, Garaa, Temari, Mari, Kai, Neji and…me! Yay!

Emma-San, you're a beautiful person in mind and soul, and I'm so glad that we're so close! You rock!"

EMMA: (Blushes) Thanks Kiba-Kun…


	3. We’re On Our Way, Alright NOT Okay!

NARUTO

All I Need To Know

CHAPTER THREE

We're On Our Way, Alright NOT Okay!

MEG: It took awhile, but here's more of the story...

"This is weird." Kai suddenly said, and Ino agreed with him.

"What's _weird_," Neji said unhappily. "Is why we all have to sit so _close_ to each other like this! My arms are getting sore!"

"I'll say!" Sakura snapped, trying to shift her position. "I feel like we're in a clown car!"

Mari and Ino giggled, as Temari said: "Well _I_ am perfectly fine, thanks for asking."

"Good, Temari-San, that's just _great_." Neji said sarcastically. "And what about the _rest_ of us?"

"Neji-Chan, leave her alone, we're _all_ a bit uptight." Tenten said reasonably.

Mari glanced over at Emma and Kankurou, who were both asleep. "How can they _do_ that _every single time_ we're in uncomfortable places?" She wondered aloud. The train suddenly started to screech to a stop, and Mari called: "Uh-oh...Emma-Chan-Lo, time to go-lo!"

Emma woke up immediately, on guard as usual, and then nudged Kankurou with her knee, which was all she could move at the moment.

The handsome sand ninja woke up slowly, and groaned when he saw where they were. "I thought it was just a bad dream!" He complained, and Temari snapped: "Stop 

complaining, Kankurou-Kun!"



"Brawk! Stop complaining! Stop complaining!" Emma's parrot, Jaws, echoed Temari.

"If he doesn't shut up," Kankurou growled angrily. "Then we're taking a trip to the taxidermy factory! And _he_ won't get to come!" He added, glaring at Jaws, who glared back at him. Emma sighed. Her boyfriend and her pet bird had a very unstable relationship.

"Woof!" Kiba's dog, Akamaru barked, as the doors to their little train carriage were thrown wide open. Akamaru, Kiba, Ino, Shino, Hinata, Neji, Lee, Tenten, Chouji, Shikamaru, Emma, Jaws, Kankurou, Mari, Kai, Kin, Temari, Zaku, Dosu, Itachi, Kisame, Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura, Pinku, Chou-Chou, Kamari and Garaa all tumbled out of the box as if they were on their way to a fire.

"FREEDOM!" Chouji yelled, throwing his arms up, and then digging around in his shoulder-bag for the CC's. Akamaru barked happily, and Kiba grinned on. Jaws flew around to stretch his wings, and so did Sakura's little pink dove, Pinku. Shikamaru sat down with his back to the carriage and dozed off again, and his son Kamari exchanged glares with his rival, little Chou-Chou, whom had blonde hair like her Father and white eyes like her Mother. Kamari and Chou-Chou also had no idea that they were betrothed...

The man whom had opened the carriage door for them had also been the one to audition Emma, Kankurou, Mari, Neji, Sakura, Garaa and Sasuke for Konoha Idol. If they'd known that by all of them getting in and being allowed to bring friends, they'd be stuck for four hours in a 'clown-train', then they might not have come!

Until, that is, they saw the boat they'd be on!



"OHHH COOL!!" Naruto shouted, and he and his daughter ran off towards the dock, leaving the others to follow with the suitcases.



The man watched them go, and board the boat.

"Bon Voyage!" People were saying (yelling, really) and confetti and streamers were everywhere.

"Don't break down without me, k?" A passanger waved to her family.

"Jimmy, don't you DARE forget to change your underwear!" One man shouted along with the rest of them.

His teenage son blushed. "Awww, _Dad_!!" He cried.

"See you next fall!" A ten year old boy yelled to his big brother.

_Fall?_ Sakura thought. _Oh, wait, I guess that some people are staying longer then others._

Then...

"Yeah, have a nice _TRIP_!" The boys twin brother shouted. They both dissolved into giggles, and so did Chou-Chou.

"See you soon!"

"Bring me back a souvenir!"

"Send pictures of hot chicks on the beach!"

"Forget the photographs - just send the chicks!"

"We'll watch for everyone on TV!"

Mari turned excitedly to Kankurou. "We're going to be on _TV_!!" She squealed happily, and shrieked with happiness when Kankurou said 'yes'.

Naruto had Chou-Chou and Temari had Kamari (they were being kept _well_ apart from each other). Sasuke was glancing warily at his brother Itchi, who had recently been turned back into a baby, although Sakura loved him and so she was holding him. And Emma was 

holding Kisame in her arms, and pointing to things around them to 're-teach' him stuff.



"Look," She would say importantly. "There's a palm tree. And, look, over there's an ice-cream vendor selling a triple-decker chocolate ice-cream to 'Uncle-Chouji'. Over there is a man with one...two..._three_ snowy-white poodles! And over _there_ is a Great White Pointer attacking someone!"

Sasuke went and dealt with this, whilst Mari dragged Chouji back onboard by his ear.

Itachi tried to repeat all of this for his 'Aunty-Em' as all of the kids called her. He said: "Pam Twee. I-cweam vwendow. Fwee poolds. Sawk 'tack!"

Tenten began to giggle.

Kankurou was watching all of this happening as the boat pulled away from the dock, and the man who'd auditioned the idols now took off his sunglasses, and stared at Kankurou's back.

"You..." He said softly, stepping back into the shadows. "Are _perfect_..." His gaze drifted with Kankurou, who now walked carefully across the deck to where Emma was standing, now holding Kisame's hand and helping him to take a few shaky steps. Kankurou reached them just as Kisame fell over, and Kankurou was right there to pick him up again, and hand him back to Emma - whom he also kissed on the lips (as couples sometimes do, I think)...

"Oooh!!" Everyone around them, friends and family, said at once, and Emma blushed, before looking down at Kisame again.

He looked first at her, then at Kankurou, then he opened his mouth and said, very clearly: "Dream Team!"

Everyone burst out laughing then, including Emma and 

Kankurou this time, before he took her by the hand and led her across to the door marked 'Star-Deck Rooms', where all of the idols and their friends would be staying. The others followed them, along with their dog (which the little blonde girl was now riding, and saying 'mush') and the two birds, and a blonde haired woman and a red haired man followed them with their luggage, the whole lot of it (well, they _are_ travelling with Ino and Sakura...)...



The auditioner's purple eyes narrowed, and he turned back into a beautiful raven-haired girl, just as the blonde woman and the red-headed man returned to the now empty deck and changed too. The blonde woman became a girl with dark hair that had been frizzed permanently by a pit of electric eels. A large praying-mantisXcockroachXsome-other-third-thing crawled out of her pocket and onto her shoulder, where it clicked it's pincers menacingly. And the red-haired man seemed to _shrink_, and he soon became a 3'5" teenage girl with long red hair and a pixie-like face.

"Did you _see_ that!?" The purple-eyed girl hissed angrily at them. "Did you _see_ it!? How those two were _acting_!? It makes me _sick_!!"

"But it wouldn't if _you_ were his girlfriend?" The brunette with the bug asked her innocently, and was rewarded with an angry scowl.

"_Don't_ patronize me, Mushi-San!" She flipped her long black hair over her shoulder, and then glanced down at the other girl. "Musha-San, what on earth is _that_!?" She asked, indicating to whatever it was that the small girl had in her hands.

Musha blushed. "Umm...I kinda accidentally have now in my possession...umm..."

"Hey, isn't that one of _their_ dog-leashes?" Mushi raised 

an eyebrow, but grinned. "Musha-Chan, you are _soooo_ dog-crazy!"

"I know! And _you're_ bug-crazy!" Musha laughed. Then she stopped laughing, and said: "And...Hoshi is...Kankurou-crazy...isn't she?" She asked softly, and they both looked over at Hoshi, whom was nodding.

"Maybe I _am_..." She said slowly, and then she smiled. "But, that's okay, because I just _know_ that he's crazy about me...or at least he _would_ be if _she_ wasn't always hanging off of him!"



"Her name isn't she," Musha reminded her. "It is Emma, remember?"

"Of _course_ I do!" Hoshi snapped at her. She sighed. "What does Kankurou _see_ in Emma anyway?"

Mushi ticked it off on her fingers. "Well, she's pretty, and she's nice, and she's _really_ sweet..."

"SO!?" Hoshi practically exploded. She bit her lip. "_I _deserve Kankurou, _not_ Emma!"

"So...what'dya wanna do about it?" Musha asked her. "How're you gonna get Kankurou?"

"Emma and Kankurou never let each other out of their _sight_." Mushi informed them both.

"What are they afraid of?" Hoshi had a smirk on her face which showed her iniquity at the moment. "Moi?"

And the three girls strolled superiorly off of the deck.

The raven sitting on the rails squawked once, and then disappeared...

MEG: See! I TOLD you I'd update!


	4. Konoha Idols Take To The Stage!

NARUTO

All I Need To Know

CHAPTER FOUR

Konoha Idols Take To The Stage!

Emma, Kankurou, Mari, Neji, Sakura, Garaa and Sasuke were due to start their performances and rehearsals the very next day, as the boat sailed from A to B (in other words, I dunno where to yet). They were all a little bit nervous, except for Garaa who's maybe _never_ apprehensive, so they gathered in the Uzumaki's room that night to practice (it was the biggest, for some reason, and Naruto and Hinata had taken Chou-Chou up to the top deck to 'view the stars' with the others, so the contestants had the whole room to themselves).

"What's everyone singing tomorrow?" Mari asked immediately, sitting down on Temari's bed and smoothing out her long pink and yellow tie-died skirt. "I," She added quickly. "Am going to be singing _C'est La Vie_."

"Which one?" Sakura asked her.

"Bwitched." Mari replied confidently.

"Good for you," Sakura told her with a smile. "Because _I_ am going to be singing the Shania Twain version tomorrow."

"Ooh, luckeeee!" Emma trilled from her spot on the floor in Kankurou's lap. "I'm singing _Promises_, by Ruki Makino."

"Huh?" Kankurou spoke up. "Emi-Chan, weren't you saying yesterday how you were going to sing _Goodmorning Sunshine_ by AQUA?"



"I can change my mind, can't I?" Emma replied, and Mari laughed.



"Well," Neji spoke up calmly. "I'm singing _Savin' Me_, by Nickelback."

"Had me worried, thought you were gonna say _Someday_." Emma told him, and they exchanged a grin. Kankurou felt an unexpected and old but familiar pang of jealousy. He had to remind himself about Tenten, and how Emma and Neji were _just friends_.

"What about you, Garaa-Chan?" Emma spoke over to Kankurou's silent red-haired brother, and Kankurou felt _another_ pang of envy. He wasn't sure he liked his girlfriend and his brother calling each other _Chan_ like they did (yes, Garaa calls _one_ person _Chan_).

Garaa replied: "_The Killer In Me_, by Smashing-Pumpkins."

"Typical." Sasuke rolled his eyes, and leaned back against the surprisingly comfortable cane-wicker chair he was lounging in.

Garaa gave him an even Look (the removal of his inner-demon had done _wonders_ for his personality, although he was still a mild bit temperamental, but at least he'd stopped killing every second person he met) and said: "Okay then, Uchiha-Kun, what are _you_ going to be singing?"

"The theme song from Titanic."

"SASUKE-KUN!!" They all yelled, especially Mari because she _hated_ to be lied to by _anyone_.

Sasuke grinned. "Just kidding," He told them, unnecessarily. "Actually..." He added, more uncertainly now. "Ino wanted me to try something...new...so...I'm going to be singing _Say A Prayer_...by Belinda Carlisle..."

"WHAT!?" Everyone screamed out the question this 

time, and Sasuke looked annoyed.



"_What_!?" He cried, and jumped up from his chair. "It's just an experiment, to see if I can sing a woman's song!" He turned to go, but Sakura cried: "WAIT! Sasuke-Chan, please, don't take it like that! We all know that you can sing it, none of _us_ is brave enough to try that out!" She added, glaring silently at the others.

But, Kankurou surprised them all, except for Emma because she'd known.

"I'm singing _Breakaway_, by Kelly Clarkson." He announced, and Mari and Sakura nearly fell off of the bed.

"Well...good luck..." Sasuke stammered in shock. (He was also jealous that _he_ wasn't the only brave on in their group of singers.)

"Good luck to _everyone_." Mari said firmly, and then they all took it in turns to practice to each other.

All you could hear on that deck was snippets and shards of:

"_Gotta let me in, hey-yeah-yeah..._"

"_Don't let it get to you, C'est La Vie..._wait, can I try that again?"

"_Promise that we'll stay for the sunset..._"

"Isn't it supposed to be 'stay _til'_ the sunset'?"

"O-nay."

"At-whay?"

"_Teach me wrong from right, I'll show you what I can be..._hey, just what _can_ I be?"

"How should _I_ know!?"

"Because you..."

"Do. Not. Say. It."

"Sorry, Emma-Chan..."



"_The killer in me is the killer in you, my love...I send this smile over to you..._"

"AURGH! Garaa just _smiled_ at me!"

"Sand..."

"NO!!"

"Sorry, Mari-San..."

"_Every child deserves love_..._except for my brother..._"



"Sasuke-Chan, stick to the script/lyrics/_real_-words!"

"Sorry, Sakura-Chan..."

"_I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly..._"

"AWOOOOR!!"

"MARI-CHAN!!"

"Soz, Em-Chan! Actually, it was _okay_...a safe performance..." Mari said thoughtfully, and Emma leapt at her with a pillow, and Sakura joined in.

The men just stood back, wary.

Hoshi frowned at herself in the mirror, and then held up the hairbrush. "_Do you feel like I feel?_" She sung softly. "_Do you...do..._" She coughed. "_Do you feel like I feel, or am I all alone_?" There, that was perfect. It wasn't the song she was singing tomorrow, but it sure fit her current mood.

Hoshi smiled at her reflection, which smiled back at her.

The _real_ Larry Findmans was currently spending some time as a pillar on the Great Naruto Bridge. Who knew when he, Dean Martin and Faye Smiles would be found again, if ever?

Until that time, Hoshi knew, she was contestant number eight in Konoha Idol. She had actually auditioned for the _real_ Larry Findmans, and then she'd 'stolen' his DNA sequence, and overpowered him before turning him into a pylon. Two people or other were contestants number nine and ten, she knew, and had been auditioned by some other person. But, no matter. Hoshi wasn't really in it to win it.

Well, she was. She'd win _something_ alright, no matter _what_ the final votes stood for...

First, Emma would go. And then...Kankurou would be 

free for the taking...


	5. Without Me

NARUTO

All I Need To Know

CHAPTER FIVE

Without Me

"WHY DIDN'T YOU _TELL_ US!!" Mari was in another one of her hyperactive moods again today to rival that of Naruto's. "THIS IS SOOOOOOOO COOL!!" She screamed, dancing around and wearing a white tag with a big number FOUR on it.

Standing in front of her, wearing similar tags with a NINE and a TEN on them, and trading back and forth matching perplexed and embarrassed glances, were none other then Sore and Zaku. They'd auditioned a bit before the others had (for the _real_ Larry Findmans) and had done a great job keeping it a secret up until now.

"Mari-Chan, calm down." Five different people said at once. Mari, Sore and Zaku looked up to find that the speakers Emma, Kai, Chouji, Temari and Ino had arrived - along with everyone else. Including Jaws, Akamaru and Pinku, whom was asleep in her mistress' hair.

"Shall we go in?" Neji asked, and they all walked into the _huge_ studio room.

"Ooh..." Naruto said. He grinned. "Look, we get to sit over there!" He pointed, and they all looked to see the comfy recliner chairs for the audience.

The two people who had taken their luggage in for them yesterday appeared suddenly, and showed all of the non-contestants to their Lay-Z-Boy Recliner Chairs.



"Goo-oo-ood Luu-uu-uuck!" Naruto called to the hopeful 

idols, as his chair hummed away.

The door swung shut behind the contestants, but not before Jaws and Pinku swooped in after them!

Akamaru barked.

Backstage, it was totally awesome. This would be a _live_ performance, for everyone to see what kinds of singers they were. Each had his or her own personal attendants, make-up artist, fashion consultant, and 'yes' person. ('Yes' people got you whatever you wanted, whenever you wanted it).

Behind door number one...

Sakura was in her element alright. Her hair was being washed, and then her make-up and nails were done, and her wardrobe was picked out, as she munched on fairy floss, and hummed her song under her breath. Pinku was relaxing in a bird-bath, complete with bubbles and sweet-smelling-soaps for Doves.

Behind door number two...

Sasuke was actually enjoying this, as he had his hair gelled, his make-up was done (guys wear it too, you know?) And he was outfitted for his number.

Neji was next-door, trying hard not to smile as someone washed his hair, did his make-up for him ('we need to bring OUT the whiteness of your eyes, dearie') and he chose his own clothes.

Mari loved it, she had her hair washed twice with banana-strawberry 'two-in-one', her nails and make-up looked perfect, she was eating an omelette, and she couldn't pick which outfit she liked the best! They called Emma in from two doors down, and she picked for her.

"Oh, thank you Em-Chan!" Mari squealed.



Kankurou peeked out the door as Emma was led past it 

by her team of fashion peoples, and then he went back in. His hair was washed, he did his own face-paint (his 'yes' person just _loved_ it) and then he selected an outfit. He was ready.

Next door, Emma had to have her hair re-washed for some reason, then of course her make-up too, at least her nail-polish wasn't chipped, and then she wandered through her walk-in wardrobe.

"You sure have a lot of clothes, but what about the poor people?" Emma asked her fashion consultant

Next door to Emma, Garaa was having his hair and make-up done too ('we just need to draw attention AWAY from the eyes and the tattoo' - Garaa wanted to kill her) and then he picked an outfit from random. It actually looked OKAY...

Room eight was locked...

In room nine, Sore quietly and patiently had her hair done, her make-up and nails done, and then she selected a nice outfit. There.

And next-door to her, Zaku was arguing constantly with his people. He didn't like his hair-style, his make-up, or his clothes so, in the end, they fetched Sore and she decided for him.

"You baka..." She rolled her eyes as she washed his hair.

Zaku glowered.

Sakura was wearing a pink and silver cheongsam, pink nail polish and a big smile when she went onstage with everyone else:



Sasuke, wearing black jeans with a chain, a blue top and a bored look. Neji dressed in jeans, a white hoodie and sunglasses. Mari, in a pink mini-skirt, a yellow 

halter-neck top, yellow boots and pink nail polish. Kankurou, in a pair of black jeans, a black jumper similar to Neji's, and holding the hand of Emma, in an aqua top, blue jeans, sneakers and with silver nail polish. Then Garaa, dressed all in black like a punk and with black nail polish, Sore in a long white dress, big earrings and red nail polish, and Zaku in a white shirt, blue jeans and skate shoes.

They stood nervously as the show's host introduced the four judges.

There was Marissa, whom was dark-skinned and REALLY nice. The red-haired man turned out to be a judge, named Dean. He was next to Marvin.

"He looks mean..." Ino whispered to Lee.

And, the fourth judge turned out to be...

"HEY! IT'S KAKASHI-SENSEI!!" Sakura and Naruto screamed.

"Kakashi-Sensei?" Sasuke was a little more quieter.

"Hi." He waved at them all, and probably smiled too (no one could ever see due to that mask of his).

Then, it was time to sing.

Sakura, Sasuke, Neji, Mari, Kankurou, Emma and Garaa all sung their songs. The others watched from backstage, waiting, preparing and commenting.

They smiled when Sakura and Mari were called 'twins' (Ino scowled).

They laughed when Neji scored a 'Touch-Down'. They cried during Kankurou's 'power-ballad' (that's what Dean called it). And, as usual, they all loved how Emma sung.

Sore, however had tears in her eyes. She _knew_ that the song was sung by a little girl to her Father, and that Emma was just singing it because she liked it. But, Sore _also_ knew that Emma was going to change her tune 

soon. She'd be singing this song for a _different_ reason...

Emma ran backstage, just as Garaa smiled at her (it was strange seeing him do that) and walked out onstage to sing.



Emma was about to walk over to Kankurou, whom was waving to her, when Sore appeared out of nowhere. She glared at Kankurou, before taking Emma by the arm, and leading her away, saying: "I must speak with you, Emma-Sama..." (All of the Sound Ninja and Sore called Emma _Sama_, since she'd helped to bring Dosu, Zaku and Kin back from the dead).

"Sure. What is it, Sore-San?" Emma asked her quietly, seeing the serious look in the young Mist Ninja's blue eyes.

"Emma-Sama," Sore said, in the voice of her inner-demon, Gobi Kurasu.

"What is it?" Emma growled as _her_ inner-demon, Tatsujuu.

In the audience Naruto, whom was watching Garaa finish his performance, sat up a little bit straighter.

"What is it?" Hinata whispered to him.

"Umm..." Naruto as Kyubii paused, just as the next contestant came onstage.

Emma stared at Sore for a second, unable to believe what she'd just heard. Suddenly, she heard Mari shriek, and she wheeled around and ran back to the wings.

Emma reached there to find Mari and Sakura looking shocked, Neji, Sasuke, Zaku and Garaa - especially Garaa - looked angry. And Kankurou was sheet white, and staring at the lone figure onstage, singing a song by Eminem.

Emma's heart was pounding, as Sore came up behind her and slipped a hand into hers (Kankurou pointedly 

took the other one, but his own hand was shaking).

The figure onstage received her applause and the judge's comments, before spinning around and marching jauntily over to them.

Emma stared her up and down, taking in the sight of the skanky black dress, black nail polish, purple heels and smug expression.

"So, we meet again, Emma-San..." Hoshi said smoothly to her.

And...



Emma leapt at her with her nails out. She bit Hoshi, pulled half of her hair out, scratched her eyes out, and then set fire to her with her Aoi Fire Jutsu.

Or, not. That's what _Neji_ saw in his mind, which is _not_ what really happened.

Emma's first reaction was to turn and walk away (_far, FAR_ away, like maybe off of the boat...) But, at the same time, she couldn't - WOULDN'T - leave her boyfriend alone with the girl who had kissed him at that Christmas Party back on Earth.

So, she just said, as evenly as she could: "Hello, Hoshi-San."

Silence. The two girls continued to stare (not glare) at one another, whilst everyone else just looked on nervously, and then Sore realised that she'd better get out onstage quick!

But, before she did, she said in her demon's voice: "_I am watching you, Hoshi-San_."

Hoshi gave her an icy-cold Look, and said: "I really couldn't care less, got it?"

But, it was Garaa who answered. "_Got_ it." He said, and took Emma's hand and led her away, so that they could watch from the audience. The others hastily followed 

them, but Hoshi grabbed Kankurou's arm.

"Wait," She smiled sweetly at him. "Kanky-Chan, I have to tell you something _important_..."

Kankurou grimaced. Kanky-Chan was what _Emma_ called him, and no one else. This was not going to end well...

Neji suddenly doubled back, and grabbed Kankurou roughly by one arm.

"Come _on_, sand puppet freak!" He growled, and Kankurou allowed himself to be dragged away.

When he reached Emma, just as Sore's song was ending, she didn't say a word about Hoshi to him. In fact, she didn't speak to him at all.



But, she _did_ smile at him, so he could relax, for now...

Aside from the fact that Zaku made an entrance from the audience instead of from the wings like everyone else had, and Akamaru barked and scared nearly everyone, the first round went smoothly.

"The next show will be aired _live_ from a town near Degarashi Point." Marissa told everyone, and Sore, Ai, Zaku, Dosu and Kin all gulped. Kai gripped Kin's hand, and she smiled at him.

_Hmm_... Thought Naruto.

"Guess what, Kin's going to play the piano for my next song!" Mari told them all when they were outside.

"Kin-Chan, that's _wonderful_!" Kai exclaimed, giving her a quick kiss.

She smiled and blushed. "Thanks, Kai-Chan."

The two of them walked off, arm-in-arm.

_Hmm..._ Thought Naruto.

Chouji suddenly came running by, and grabbed Mari's 

hand.

_Hmm..._ Thought Naruto.

"DINNER IN TWO MINUTES, GET DRESSED AND HURRY UP! WE'RE DINING WITH THE CAPTAIN!" Chouji and Mari yelled together.

_Hmm..._ Thought Naruto.

"Daddy?" Chou-Chou tugged on Naruto's jacket.

"Huh? Oh, what is it, Chou-Chou-Chan?" He asked her, looking down into her big white eyes.

"Do you think," She said, seriously. "That Uncle-Kai will marry Aunty-Kin, and Uncle-Chouji will marry Aunty-Mari?"

Naruto was so shocked that he didn't know what to say!



"Oh, never mind, there's Mummy, I'll go and ask her!" Naruto's little butterfly ran off.

Naruto stared after her for a moment, before turning to Shikamaru, whom had heard the whole thing, and asking him the exact same question!

As it turned out, Shikamaru had something different to tell Naruto, but related...

Just before dinner, when Kamari in his suit had run off to see Kankurou, Emma and Garaa, and his parents were alone in their room, Shikamaru asked Temari something.

In his black suit, he got down on one knee and, taking the hand of his beloved gold-dress-wearing Temari, he asked her: "Will you marry me?"

And, of course, Temari screamed YES!

She couldn't _wait_ to show off her new diamond ring to everyone!

She didn't even mind that Dosu had asked Sore the same thing that evening, and she'd said yes, too. 

Everyone toasted to them at dinner.

Naruto spilt his drink.

Hinata didn't mind.

Sasuke _did_.

"What is it with guys and black suits?" Sakura was standing around in the ladies room with Ino, Mari and Hinata, fixing up their make-up and gossiping.

"I _know_," Ino sighed, as she washed her hands. "Just trying to _get_ Sasuke into it was bad enough, but he tore the jacket as soon as we'd left the room!"



"Tell me about it," Mari said. "And how come they're all wearing _black_ suits?" She turned to Hinata and said. "At least Naruto's had _some_ other colour on it, even if it was orange..." She frowned, and then they all giggled.

The doors swung open, and Temari, Kin, Ai and Sore came in.

"What is this, a gossip-station?" Temari grinned, as she began to brush her hair in the mirror.

"Nah, we're just picking on the boys in matching suits." Mari said with a straight face.

"Speaking of which, did anyone see the look on Sasuke's face when he saw that someone had given Itachi a top hat just like his?" Kin giggled, and the other girls laughed.

Ai was helping Sore put a safety pin onto the broken strap of her grey and white dress, but she said: "Hey sis, I can't believe you're getting _married_..."

They all stopped and glanced at Sore, whom blushed and said: "It is no big deal. After all, so is Temari." She smiled at Temari, and said: "Shall we...double-wed?"

Temari roared with laughter. "Oh yes, let's!" She cried, 

jumping up and down. "It'll be so much fun!" She added, just as the doors swung open again, and Emma came in now.

There was a big black stain on her red dress!

"Em-Chan, what _happened_!?" Mari cried, as Emma sat down glumly on a bench.

"Three guesses!" Ai suddenly snapped, accidentally stabbing Sore with the 'safety' pin.

"Ouch!" She cried.

"Sorry sis," Ai said offhandedly. "But, we all _know_ who spilt _ink_ on Emma's dress, right girls?" She said, and they all nodded.

"What _is_ that Hoshi girl's problem, anyways?" Kin wanted to know.

The others exchanged a glance, and then one by one they began to tell her, Ai and Sore all about the girl who was in love with Kankurou.



All the while, Emma just sat there, staring at herself in the mirror, as Mari and Temari worked to clean her dress.

A _green_-haired girl came in, glanced warily at the nine women standing around talking and cleaning someone's dress, before disappearing into a cubicle. "Look," Emma said in a low voice, as her dress was, more or less, deemed worthy by the other girls. "Look," She said again, and went over to wash the ink off of her hands. "Kankurou and I aren't even married yet. Therefore, Hoshi has every right to covet him."

"EM-CHAN, STAND UP FOR YOURSELF!!" Mari wailed.

"SSH!" The others hissed at her.

And, surprisingly, Emma did. She said: "But, I love Kankurou, and I _know_ that he loves me. We're not going to lose each other again. We've been through too much already."

"Courtship." Mari recalled.

"The sacrifice." Temari put an arm around Mari's shoulders (with only _VERY_ faint white scars all over them).

"Meeting up again on Earth." Hinata smiled.

"And falling in love again." Sakura sighed dreamily.

"That thing with Neji..." Ino began, and then she looked around. "Say, where _is_ Tenten, anyways?" She asked them all.

Most of them shrugged, but Mari just smiled. "I'll bet I know..." She said, leading them all out of the ladies room.

The cubicle door swung open the second they left, and the green-haired girl stalked out, glanced at herself in the mirror, and changed swiftly into her _true_ form, which 

was Hoshi, of course.

"_Bitches_!" She cried, breaking a mirror with her mind (seven years of bad luck, Hoshi!) And stalking out of the ladies room in the other girls' wake.

She was so angry, that she didn't see Ai and Sore standing in a corner of the room, glaring after her.

MEG: A long chapter…


	6. The Day Of Engagements

NARUTO

All I Need To Know

CHAPTER SIX

The Day Of Engagements

As we arrive in Deragashi Point, if you guessed that Neji had proposed to Tenten and she said yes, then you were correct!

She showed off her silver and diamond engagement band to everyone the next morning, before they disembarked at the bay.

The idols weren't due to sing for two days, so everyone had plenty of time to:

a) Explore the island and dig for buried treasure...

b) Go shopping...

c) Stop someone _else_ from going shopping...

d) Stalk someone...

Naruto, of course, wanted to find a ramen shop and then go treasure hunting (for real) and so Hinata, Chou-Chou, Kamari, Temari, Shikamaru, Kiba and Akamaru went with him (Naruto had thought that Akamaru's nose would come in handy both for sniffing out a place that sold noodles and for finding some buried treasure).

Sakura, Ino, Kin and Tenten wanted to go shopping. Of course then, Lee, Sasuke, Kai and Neji had to go with them too, to make sure that they didn't spend all of their money (it was bound to happen eventually) and so they and Pinku went off in the direction of Carillon City.



Chouji and Mari were hungry, as usual, and so they, Shino and baby Itachi went off in search of an all-you 

can eat BBQ, just for Chouji.

Zaku, Dosu, Sore and Ai preferred to go off and do their own thing (which probably involved some kind of ninja-training), and so that left Emma, Kankurou, Garaa and baby Kisame, and they were joined by Kakashi, which was okay, really...

They ducked into three different shops: Adult Bookshop for Kakashi where he found _Itcha Itcha Paradise Volume II_, _My Puppet And Me_ for Kankurou and _Knives, Knives, Knives_ for Garaa (?).

And, all the while, Emma was taking care of the baby called Kisame, helping him to walk by holding his hands, and letting him hang out with Jaws.

_She's so good with kids,_ Kankurou thought. _I just wish that _I_ was as well..._

Emma looked up at him then, handed Kisame to Garaa, rushed up to Kankurou, and gave him a great big hug!

_God, I love her..._ Kankurou couldn't help but think, as he wrapped his own arms around her and hugged her back.

When the treasure hunters got to the place where Akamaru was sure they'd find treasure (like, steak, maybe?) Everyone was a bit hyperactive, mainly Naruto.

Everyone began to dig around, except for Shikamaru, who fell asleep under a palm tree with _ears_...

Here's what they found:

Nine old kunai,

Two broken shuriken,

A book on how to farm marron,

_Another_ book about dairy,

A purple clam-shell,

Twelve Bart Simpson dolls,



An ancient-looking hand-sized gramophone,

An Allosaurus bone,



A horse-shoe crab which bit Naruto's nose,

And, last of all, a gold ring with a red ruby!

Naruto nearly had a heart attack.

"HEY, HINATA-CHAN!!" He yelled, and she came running over to him.

"MARRY ME!?" Naruto cried, handing her the ring, and Hinata gasped, and burst into tears.

"IS THAT A YES!?" Naruto yelled, as Chou-Chou ran up to them happily.

Hinata paused, and then screamed: "YES!" At the top of her lungs, and the other kids and Temari joined in.

Shikamaru just looked at them as if they were mental.

Back in the hotel they were staying in that night, the shoppers were all relaxing in their interconnecting rooms. Sakura and Ino were lying down on the big bed in Sakura and Lee's room, Sakura with her head at the top of the bed, and Ino with her's at the end of it.

On Sakura's left ring finger was a gold band with a pink heart-shaped stone on it. On Ino's wedding finger was a gold band with intricate designs etched into it.

"I can't _believe_ we're getting married." They sighed at the same time. (Not to _each other_!)

"To Lee..." Sakura added dreamily.

"And Sasuke..." Ino smiled.

"KEEP IT _DOWN_ IN THERE!!" Sasuke, Neji, Kai and Lee were in the next room, watching AFL Football.

"Yes, I really _can't_ believe it." Ino muttered.

"Yeah, ditto..." Sakura murmured, stroking Pinku's soft pink feathers.

_What_ were they getting themselves _into_ here!?


	7. I Am The Cheese

NARUTO

All I Need To Know

CHAPTER SEVEN

I Am The Cheese

Tenten, asleep on hers and Neji's big white-covered bed, awoke that evening to this:

"Honeys, we're hoooome!"

"Hi, Mari-Chan!"

"Guess what, Saki and Ino are getting married!"

"To each _other_!?"

"NO! EW!"

"OW! Ino hit me!"

"Well, you shouldn't have said _ew_ like that!"

"KEEP IT _DOWN_ IN THERE!"

"Where's Emma?"

"Hey, you guys found buried treasure!"

"When are we having tea?"

"SCORE!" (And, the crowd went wild...)

"Not really, we only found a lot of junk..."

"Hinata's engagement ring is _not_ junk!"

"I dunno, let's ask Kankurou over there..."

"We'll have tea as soon as everyone's ready, and we track down Emma..."

"Garaa's missing too, you know..."

"Hey, Sore's back!"

"Sorry, Naruto-Kun, I guess that's really not junk after all..."

"Who ripped the cover off _I Am The Cheese_!?"

"Well, now _that_ is, but not the ruby ring..."

"I'm soooo hungry!"



"Hey, how come Kakashi's in here?"

"Good question..."

"Mari-Chan, we need more chocolate-vanilla-strawberry ice-cream!"

"No we don't, we need to finish off the vanilla and strawberry parts _first_!"

"I'll bet it was Naruto..."

"Who ate all of the chocolate ice-cream?"

"Who ripped the cover off that book..."

"Oh?"

"EMMA'S _MISSING_!!"

Everyone stopped talking, and even the TV toned down a bit, as Kankurou leapt off of his chair.

"You mean you didn't even _notice_!?" Sore said from the doorway. She shook her head. "Kankurou-Kun, go down to the swimming pool."

SHOOMP! Kankurou and about seven others hurtled themselves out of their rooms and down the hallway towards the elevator.

The glass elevator sure took its time getting there and, when it did, the doors didn't seem to want to open!

Kankurou was starting to look panicked, just as the doors began to open _reeeaaally_ slowly.

They all stared at this one little girl in the lift, who stared back at them, until the lift voice suddenly said: "_Going up..._" And she nearly had a heart attack. (There _was_ no up - this was the top floor they were on!)

Kiba leapt forward, grabbed the lift doors, and held them open. Akamaru stuck his head in there, grabbed the little girl by her sleeve, and yanked her out again.

Kiba let go once she was out, the lift creaked, and then crashed seven storeys down. They all heard it, and people began to gather around them.



The girl was sobbing into Akamaru's neck, a bundle of red hair and fur.

"Say, don't I _know_ you?" Kiba and Naruto cried at the same time.

Kankurou sighed impatiently, and then ran for the stairs, with Neji, Tenten and Sore right behind him. He took the steps five at a time, as only ninjas can, and reached the pool area in record time.

They ran onto the pavement.

"Hiya!" Baby Kisame called from the pool, where he was splashing around all by himself. "Lookie, I can _swim_ now!"

"That's...great..." Tenten said faintly, kneeling down and holding out her arms to him. "Come, swim over here to Auntie-Tenten."

"But, where's..." Neji muttered, and Sore pointed.

He and Kankurou looked.

There, standing on the bridge over the pool, were Emma, Garaa and...Hoshi.

"Oh no..." Neji muttered darkly, angrily clenching and unclenching his fists as he stared.

There was Emma, petite in her pink two piece and boardies. Garaa, in black boardies (Garaa in board-shorts??) And Hoshi, in the skimpiest black two piece Kankurou had _ever_ seen on _anybody_...

"What are they saying?" Tenten asked, scooping up baby Kisame and carrying him over to where the others were standing.

Hoshi appeared to point across the pool to something. Emma looked, and then nodded firmly. Garaa stepped in front of her, and said something to her. She shook her head, pointed at Hoshi, and then said something. Hoshi looked furious, said something to Emma which made 

her gasp, and then the two girls dived into the pool.



They were racing.

They raced neck-and-neck to one end of the pool, until Emma pulled just slightly ahead of her.

"Yeah!" Kankurou cheered, in spite of himself.

Then, he and the others gulped. The _next_ leg of the race seemed to be held _underwater_ - and no stops for breathing.

From his bridge, Garaa watched, silently.

Emma and Hoshi seemed to be going well, until Garaa suddenly appeared beside Neji and nudged him - hard.

Neji instantly activated his Byakugan. "Byakugan!" He said, and then he winced, seeing under the water clearly and past the two racing girls, to where the bullies were holding the poor little girl under the water, trying to drown her!

Neji went to move, but Emma beat him to it.

She seemed to have a built-in radar to sense when people were in danger and, in a second, she had broken away from the race, and was moving towards the problem. She burst out of the water like a magical water-sprite, and yelled: "LEAVE THAT KID ALONE!"

(Not just another brick in the wall, now, is she?)

The bullies were terrified, and scattered. Emma dove under again, and retrieved the unconscious little girl. Neji and the others reached her just as she was administering EAR.

The little girl was soon conscious again, as the crowd gathered.

The little girl, who was about Chou-Chou and Kamari's age, said: "My name is Yumi. My Mummy's name is Yuugao and my Daddy's is Hayate, and I was kidnapped by a strange man and..."

Emma let out a yelp, and said: "You're Hayate's 

daughter!?" Tears came to her. "Where are your parents!?"

Yumi cried: "I don't know! Please, help me find them!" She was crying, and Emma was too. She couldn't believe what Yuugao had lost again.

"Jaws," Mari said to Emma's parrot. "You know what to do."

"Yes!" Jaws squawked, and took off.

Then, Mari went over, and Yumi transferred herself to her. Mari hugged her tightly.

The crowd was huge, so Emma found the nearest set of arms, which happened to be Garaa's.

"Where's Kankurou?" She asked.

Garaa looked up, and saw his brother on the bridge, talking to Hoshi.

His eyes narrowed. Why hadn't Kankurou come over _here_ yet?

Shino came up, though, and put a hand on Emma's shoulder. She smiled gratefully up at him, and then her gaze drifted.

She let out a startled scream.

She hadn't seen her boyfriend and the girl whom loved him yet.

What she _had_ seen...was Kiba and Musha, holding hands...

MEG: Has anyone else read I AM THE CHEESE?? It's not about dairy…


	8. Shall We Dance?

NARUTO

All I Need To Know

CHAPTER EIGHT

Shall We Dance?

Mari had come up when she'd heard her best friend's scream. "Em-Chan?" She said, looking around them all. "What's the matter? Cause' I know when you scream like that it usually means that...holy-moley..." She'd just caught sight of what Emma had, and now she too stared at it in shock. "D...does anyone else _know_?" She asked Emma, in a tight voice.

Emma shook her head. "Uh...I don't think so..."

"Know _what_?" Naruto, of course, had appeared, and wanted some more details.

So, taking it in turns, Emma and Mari told him, Garaa and Shino who Kiba's new 'girlfriend' was.

"You mean..." Naruto stared at the red-haired short girl. "That girl...from the shop on Earth...she's one of Hoshi's best friends?"



Mari nodded. "Yes, and I can't _believe_ she hasn't told Kiba yet." She added, glancing over at him again. "Poor Inuzaku..." She murmured, as the others minus Kiba and Kankurou came up to them. Naruto and Shino quickly filled them in on what was going on, and their reactions were pretty much the same as Emma, Mari and Naruto's had been, except for the babies, all of whom were asleep. Hinata handed Chou-Chou to Naruto so that she could go and speak with Kiba (she'd been elected their spokesperson), and Shikamaru had Kamari. Ino had Itachi, much to Sasuke's pleasure, and Emma was 

putting on a balancing act, with Yumi in one arm and Kisame in the other arm.

She'd finally spotted Kankurou.

_Okay, stay calm..._ She told herself firmly. _And just call out to him as if nothing's happening..._

"HEY! KANKUROU-CHAN!?" She cringed. _Yikes! I didn't call him 'Kanky'-Chan!_

Nonetheless, Kankurou turned around. The sight of his girlfriend holding not one but _two_ babies might've unnerved him, but he bravely called back: "WHAT!?" (Not impatiently, when guys say something they usually just mean _what_ they say, and never _how_ they say it, according to my Dad, and he should know...)

Emma called back: "WE'RE GOING TO GO HAVE TEA NOW!"

"WHAT!?" Kankurou hadn't heard her properly.

"WE'RE GOING TO TEA!" Emma and Mari both yelled.

"WHAT!?"

"**TEA TIME**!!" Emma and Mari, plus all of their friends including Garaa, now positively screamed.

Kankurou gave them a cocky grin, and swaggered towards them and away from Hoshi. _God, my Emi sure has a loud voice!_ He thought to himself.

Just then, he heard Hoshi say to him: "Oh, Kanky-Chan?"

On the pavement, everyone watched as Emma bristled. She had heard her.

Kankurou glanced over his shoulder at Hoshi.

She smiled at him. "I'll see you at dinner." She smiled, as the water turned black to her left, a wave came up, enveloped her, and she disappeared.

_How did she do THAT!?_ Kankurou wondered.

_What a show-off..._ Temari scowled.

_Impressive...maybe..._ Was Garaa's input.



Together, the three Sand Siblings all thought the _exact_ same thing: _That girl spells T-R-O-U-B-L-E!_

Everyone wanted to look his or her best for dinner in the hotel ballroom that night. Well, the girls did, and they each wanted the guys to as well, so everyone got dressed up even more so then their first performance back on the boat.

"Hey, Mari-Chan?" Kai stuck his head into her room to ask her. "Did you know that the boat has a _name_?"

Mari shook her head in wonder. "No! What _is_ it?" She asked him, just as Emma came in from the other room, asking for a comb, which Mari lent to her, and Emma stuck around to listen.

"The name of the boat, actually it has _two_ names," Kai began, and both the girls said 'ooh', of course, and Kai grinned. "The _two_ names for the _luxury ocean-liner_ designed by the second-step-cousin thrice-removed of the Second Hokage...is _The Rain-King Rani..._"

Emma and Mari's mouths fell open, and so did Chouji's, he'd just come out of the bathroom and heard the whole exchange.

Remember, Emma, Mari and Kai's ancestors from _The Legend Of The Moon God_ back in _Sacrificial Bonds_ were named Amme, Rami and Keizer (Amme is like _ame_, which is Japanese for 'rain', Keizer means 'king' in just about every single language, and Rami just sounded good, and is kinda like 'rani' as in THE BALI RANI, and Rani means 'royal'...)

"But, that's not _all_!" Kin now stuck her head in beside Kai's, as she went on: "Do you guys wanna know what 

the names of the _decks_ are?"

Well, of course they all did!

Emma, Mari and Chouji sat on one bed, and Kai and Kin sat on the other one.



"Where's Ka..." Mari began, but Emma just shook her head at her. Mari shut up.

"Well," Kin said importantly. "As you _mina_ all know, _The Rain-King Rani_ has _ten_ decks. I don't know _how_, and I don't know _why_, but here they are, from the bottom to the top:

1) Coastal Deck

2) Love Song Deck

3) Cherry Blossom Deck

4) The Stella Maris Deck

5) Star-Deck (That's _our_ deck, mochiron...)

6) _Nijuu_ Deck

7) Sky-Wind Deck

8) The Butterfly Deck

9) Sunshine Deck

10) Top Deck (How original...)..."

Kin looked up to find the other three staring at her blankly, although Emma was sorta nodding a little bit.

Kin exhaled impatiently. "Don't you get it?" She asked them. She blinked. She sighed angrily. "Okay, look, here they are again:

1) Coastal Deck

2) Love Song Deck

3) Cherry Blossom Deck

4) The Stella Maris Deck

5) Star-Deck

6) _Nijuu_ Deck

7) Sky-Wind Deck

8) The Butterfly Deck



9) Sunshine Deck

10) Top Deck..."

"Explain it again..." Mari said, slowly.

Kin and Kai traded a pained look. If this was difficult explaining it to these three, then how were they supposed to explain it to, oh say...Naruto?



Kai tried this time: "Okay, here we go." He says. And he recited:

"The Coastal Deck and the Top Deck are pretty straight-forward. But _then_...

Love Song Deck, as in _Ai_. Cherry Blossom Deck as in _Sakura_. The Stella Maris Deck is as in _Mari_na, 'the star of the sea'. Star-Deck, as in _Hoshi_. _Nijuu_ Deck, as in _Ten_ plus _Ten_ equals...?? Sky-Wind Deck is in _Sore_ once _Kaze_. The Butterfly Deck as in _Chou-Chou_. And, the Sunshine Deck as in _Hyuga Hinata_!" He finished triumphantly.

"Why...is it all of the _girls_?" Chouji asked slowly.

"_I don't KNOW_!" Kai cried.

"Not _all _of us..." Mari added. "What about Emma, Ino and Kin?"

"Aside from the boat's _name_." Emma reminded her.

"Uh..." Kin added. "Also, for Ino and I...well, the two biggest _life-boats_?"

"Don't _tell_ me..." Mari groaned.

"They're called _The Inorinoasa_ and _The Kindred Spirit Of Freedom_..." Kin and Kai said in unison.

_Hmm..._ Thought Mari. But, all she said, as she sprung up off of the bed, was: "I'll go and let the others know."

They all watched her leave the room via the door interconnecting it with Kai and Kin's, until Emma noticed something, and sprung up after her, yelling: "Mari-Chan, _wait_! _A-bray ap-stray owing-shay! OWING-SHAY!!_" (Bra 

strap showing! SHOWING!!)

Kin suddenly gasped too, and rocketed across the room and after Emma. "Emma-Sama! Top-a-gop-sop hop-a-nop-gop-i-nop-gop o-u-top!" (Tags hanging out!)



Chouji and Kai exchanged a bemused glance, before Chouji got off of the bed, and knelt under. He pulled out a small box. "Kai-Kun, umm, Mari and I are...well, see...I wanted to ask her if she'll...umm...you know??" And, still kneeling, he opened the box to show Kai the solid gold and ring-stoned ring in its box.

"You're going to ask her to marry you?" Kai looked thrilled. "Good on ya, Chouji-Kun, you go for it!"

"Really?" Chouji looked delighted too.

Kankurou wandered in, looking for Emma.

"Hey, _mina_, have you..." He stopped dead-still when he caught sight of Chouji kneeling on the floor with a wedding band, and Kai looking thrilled. He backed out again. "Never mind..." He said hastily, shutting the door behind him.

Kai and Chouji glanced at each other, and then they both burst out laughing.

Life was never dull for any of them!

Just before they came down, Chouji 'popped The Question to Mari', and naturally she said yes!

She bolted across the rooms and finally found Emma in Temari and Shikamaru's room, where she screamed and told her the good news. Then, all three of them screamed, hugged, looked at one another, burst into tears, screamed again, and hugged some more.

Shikamaru and Kamari (in matching grey and black pinstripe suits) glanced at each other and bid a hasty 

retreat.

There was another scream from somewhere down the hallway.

"Was that...Ai?" Mari gasped.

It was! Zaku had just proposed to her...and she'd accepted!!

That entire floor may never hear again...



"Okay, is anyone _else_ going to get engaged before we go?" Sasuke asked in mock sternness.

Everyone laughed, and then the group of twenty-nine (yes, Kakashi was _still_ hanging around with them - didn't he have anything _better_ to do with his time?) Made their way down the hallway.

"Let's take the stairs." Kankurou suggested, and they all laughed again - and took the stairs.

By the time they got downstairs they all had jelly-legs, but nonetheless they bravely marched across the foyer and into the ballroom.

"Ooh..." Chou-Chou said, letting go of her Mother's hand and her Father's hand, and skipping across the _gold_ sparkly carpet in her pretty bumblebee coloured dress (she even had little _wings_ on her back, it looked so _cute_!)

The other kids looked adorable too! Itachi was wearing a navy blue suit with his top-hat and...Sasuke was dressed pretty much the same, except his suit had a black trim! He was staring down at his 'little-older-brother' warily, but he actually smiled when Itachi said to him: "Room look like Auntie-Temmy _dress_!"

Temari was wearing her golden dress again, and Shikamaru and Kamari were in their matching suits, of 

course.

"Careful Kisame-Chan!" Emma and Sakura both called out in unison, as little boy in a _paisley_ suit made a beeline for a potted fern. Emma let Sakura deal with that, whilst she gently coaxed a shy and nervous-looking little Yumi to go to Mari's arms. Yumi was still scared, of course, but she looked very sweet in a white snow-princess dress with a white fur-lining, and baby blue ugg-boots (with more fur). Her short dark hair had a big sugar pink bow in it, and she was gazing around solemnly with large baby blue eyes as she was transferred from Emma's arms to Mari's arms.



They saw Sakura reach Kisame just as he knocked over the potted fern.

They saw a security guard appear in a swirl of black smoke.

They saw Kakashi and Lee run over to help Sakura and Kisame.

They saw Shikamaru and Kamari eye off a passing Sirloin Steak in a Diane Sauce.

But, they _didn't_ see Yuugao _or_ Hayate, so Yumi burrowed her head into the top of Mari's hot pink dress. She was still scared.

Chouji, wearing a brown and grey tweed suit, led Mari (still carrying Yumi) over to a table where sat a large Sus Scrofa with an apple in its mouth.

"Hi." Mari said to it, pulling up a chair.

The boar swallowed his apple whole, and then said to her: "Please don't look at me like that, I'm not edible. I have _Tetradotoxin_ running through my veins."

"Eew..." Yumi said, before hiding her face on Mari's shoulder again.

"Chouji-Chan, _don't_..." Mari frowned, and Chouji put 

down his knife and book titled _Alchemy For Beginners: Chapter One - Movere Potio_ (probably courtesy of Pirate-Naruto...)

"R-_Aa_-r!" Across the table Naruto, in his black suit with the fluoro orange trim, was trying to teach his daughter how to say _ramen_. He wasn't having much luck, she was _still_ calling them _rar'e_. Oh well. At least she _ate_ them. Who cared if she could say their name properly or not? Naruto decided not to. He began to teach her how to sing _Here Comes The Bride_. Hinata, dressed in an off-white dress, laughed, and then continued her conversation with Kiba, whom was wearing a black and fawn suit, and they might've been talking about Musha. Akamaru lay beside Kiba's chair, and dozed off presently.



Next to them were Temari, Shikamaru and Kamari, and Ino dressed in a purple and red dress was next to them, with Sasuke and Itachi. Sakura wearing a pink blouse and a long red skirt was next to her, and so was Lee in his black and green suit. Pinku was sitting on the table beside between them, cooing softly. Then, there was Kakashi, still wearing his mask yet dressed in a suit that was _turquoise_!

Next to him was in a grey and white suit Dosu, whom was busy talking earnestly to Sore, dressed in a cream-white dress. Next to her was Ai, wearing a red blouse, black dress-pants and frowning whilst removing a brand new stain from Zaku's black and grey suit. Kin was next to Zaku, wearing a silver dress, and discussing with Kai _his_ engagement band, and why he _couldn't_ wear tonight's suit of forest green and white to their wedding.

Emma was sitting next to Kai, and she looked fantastic in a navy blue cocktail dress with a big black bow. She 

was smiling and talking to an also smiling and talking Kankurou, wearing a black and burgundy-trimmed suit with a top hat - but, both of them were looking nervously around.

Emma didn't want Hoshi to show up (but, she had a feeling that Hoshi would...)

Kankurou didn't want Hoshi to show up (but, he had a feeling that Hoshi would...)

Jaws _still_ hadn't shown up yet, but Mari had told Emma she'd sent the parrot to find Yumi's parents, so Emma could wait. Besides, she'd definitely _know_ if something was up...

Garaa, wearing a black suit with a red trim, was next to his brother. And, sitting across from Garaa and next to Mari, was Shino, wearing a black and gun-grey suit, and looking mildly bored.

Everyone looked up suddenly, because someone had just approached their table.



It was Musha, wearing a black and red cocktail dress, and looking slightly nervous. She was with someone, a much taller girl.

"Uh, I hope you don't mind..." Kiba said nervously. "But...I invited Musha and Mushi to sit with us...umm...okay?"

Everyone else exchanged a glance, until Emma said loudly: "Of course! They're welcome! _Dozoyoroshiku_!"

_Yasashi!_ Musha thought, as she and Mushi crept forward, and pulled up chairs next to Kiba and between Garaa and Shino.

"_Hajimemashite_?" They asked at the same time, and Emma _smiled _at them

She replied: "Fine, thankyou."

Mushi glanced over at Shino, and then asked Emma: 

"_Dare desuka_?"

"_Tomodachi no Aburame Shino-San desu_." Emma replied.

"Shi...no...Abura...me..." Mushi repeated, with a small smile on her face. Then, she turned to Shino, and asked him: "_Juumi wa _bug-collecting _desu_!"

Shino _finally_ looked up at her.

"_Juumi wa nan desuka_?" She asked him seriously.

And, he replied: "_Boku mo _bug-collecting _o shimasu_..."

Mushi looked delighted.

Emma smiled faintly. She wasn't sure if they'd all been saying that stuff right, but now it seemed as if people were getting along for the better, so she turned back to find Kankurou staring strangely at her.

"What?" She couldn't figure it out.

"They're _Hoshi's_ friends..." He reminded her.

"...Soooo...what's your point?"

He stared at her some more.

"They're Hoshi's _friends_. Not Hoshi." Emma said firmly.

He sighed. "I guess...you're right..."

"Of course I am." She snapped with a grin. "Now, come on, I'm _starving_!"



Dinner was really fun, and so was dancing afterwards. Everyone in their group must've danced with every single other person - including girl-guys, guy-guys and girl-girls! They formed a huge circle during _The Birdie Dance_, and took it in turns for the next song (_Thriller_) to dance in the centre of the circle. Everyone took a turn, even Hinata, and soon everyone else in the hotel joined in.

Soon, it was time for a very strange _Snowball Dance_.

And, you didn't get to pick whom your partners were!

The onmitsu and kunoichi had a quick discussion. The 

kids were asleep on hotel chairs.

"So, no matter what, no hard feelings?" Naruto was saying, and everyone else nodded.

After all, most of them were engaged, and so this was more of a 'friendly' dance (unless, of course, the couples were paired up).

No such luck.

A hotel worker hurried through them and, by the time the song came on (it was _Light Surrounding You_) they stood like this:

Naruto and Sakura

Sasuke and Temari

Lee and Hinata

Neji and Sore

Garaa and Emma

Zaku and Ai

Dosu and Mushi

Kai and Mari

Chouji and Musha

Shikamaru and Ino

Kiba and Tenten

Shino and Kin

Kankurou and...Hoshi!

_Aiyeeeeeiii!!_ Where had _she_ come from!! Wearing that same skimpy black dress, she just smiled up at Kankurou and led him out and onto the dance-floor.

Emma, clutching Garaa's hand so tightly she almost broke it, watched them go, with her heart pounding. _Please, don't let him be infatuated by her! I KNOW how Hoshi can be sometimes...after all, I _lived_ with her for awhile..._

The song picked up pace, as the couples danced away.

Naruto stepped on Sakura's foot five times before the 

second chorus.

Hinata tried to keep up with Lee's dancing.

Kai and Mari talked through the whole thing.

At least Zaku and Ai were happy!

Neji and Sore actually looked like they were having a pretty deep and serious conversation.

Emma and Garaa were watching Kankurou dance with Hoshi.

_If she gets any closer to him..._ Emma's thoughts trailed off.

_She's making him put his hands around her waist..._ Garaa observed.

The dance ended, and most people broke away from their dance partners to find their _real_ partners.

Emma was _just_ about to head towards Kankurou (whom was heading for her) when something made them all look up.

WHOOSH!

A ninja dressed all in black from head to foot, with glowing red eyes showing between his hood, dropped down from the ceiling, drew his swords, and headed straight for Yumi!

"YUMI-CHAN!" Emma screamed and, before anyone could stop her, she made to divert the enemy ninja. He rounded on her immediately, and aimed a sword right at her chest.

"EMI-CHAN!" Kankurou yelled, and grabbed her out of the way. The ninja changed his course too, and headed back for Yumi.



"Oh no you don't!" Lee was the closest, and he tackled the black-clad enemy ninja head-on. They fell to the ground, and Lee sprung up again, as did his foe.

"LEE-CHAN!" Sakura shouted.

"ALL TOGETHER MINA!" Mari suddenly yelled.

"RISING TWIN DRAGONS!" Tenten slammed her two scrolls onto the ground to summon her weaponry.

"BYAKUGAN!" The two Hyuga cousins yelled in unison.

"AKAI DIRECT!" Musha yelled, surprising them all with her red beam of light.

"AOI FIRE!" Emma called, not to be out-done, and the blue fire raced towards the ninja too.

But, he shocked them all!

"BIANCA FIRE!" He yelled in a terrible voice, and the white fire extinguished everything. The ninja glanced at Yumi, trembling in Ai's arms, and then he vanished.

Everyone stared at the spot where he'd been.

"Bianca...Fire..." Emma whispered, pale all of a sudden.

Kankurou hugged her.

"Also," Kin said, loudly enough for everyone to hear her. "This was where the next performance was gonna be. Now what?"

"Maybe they'll move us?" Temari suggested.


	9. I Really, Really Do

NARUTO

All I Need To Know

CHAPTER NINE

I Really, Really Do...

"This is NOT what I had in mind!" Temari complained the following day.

"Not _again_!" Naruto whined, as the train clacked along the train tracks.

"So much for _Transperth_..." Kai mumbled angrily.

"Are we _there_ yet?" Chou-Chou whinged.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, we are." Her Uncle told her, as the trains screeched to a stop, someone opened the doors for them, and they all tumbled out.

"WOW!" Each of them said, clearly impressed.

"What should we do _first_?" Naruto was clearly in awe.

They were in the country, somewhere very different from Degarashi Point. Rolling green hills, periwinkle blue skies with cotton-candy clouds, the _sun_ (Kankurou knew it well), a crystal-clear lake, an apple orchard, a big old farm house with _turrets_, a kid flying overhead with _wings_, and...

"HORSES!" Emma and Mari shrieked together.

"UMA!" Musha, Chou-Chou and Yumi yelled, and the five of them took off towards the paddock.

"Well, _there's_ your answer." Sasuke grinned at Naruto, as they followed the horse-fans over to the paddock.

"Hey, where's Hoshi?" Shino asked Mushi.

Mushi shrugged. "I do not know..." She answered slowly. "She is not here?"

"Hmm..." Temari said. "I wonder where she could be?"



A scream from Emma made everyone look up, startled.

"CHIEF! CHIEF! CHIEF!!" She was saying, as she ran towards a small grey pony, whom was cantering up to meet her. Like a scene from _Homeward Bound_ the two met, and she hugged him, as everyone else crowded around them.

"This is so weird, what's Chief doing here?" Mari asked, patting the pony's white neck.

"Who cares?!" Emma cried, overjoyed. "Let's go for a RIDE!!"

"Yay!" Yumi cheered.

The adults smiled at one another.

So, they went on a horseride, since they weren't due to perform until the following day (_that_ sounded kinda familiar...)

There was a _lot_ more of them since their last horseride back on Earth!

And, a lot of horses were there, too...

It was like this:

Emma on Chief, of course

Mari, on a golden buckskin named Cobber

Kai, driving a stubborn cremello mare called Popcorn

Chouji, on a brown Standardbred called Spud

Ino, on a palomino mare called Topaz

Shikamaru, on a chestnut Quarter Horse called Leo

Kin, on a grey mare called Zahara

Zaku, on a paloose named Lady

Dosu, on a bay mare called Pippin

Mushi, on another paloose named Suzie

Musha, on a stubborn red bay named Monty

Naruto, on a tail-less bay mare called Bobby

Sasuke, on a dark bay brown Welsh D Cob called Dolly



Sakura, on a pretty cream buckskin filly called Brindabella



Hinata, on a sweet strawberry roan called Gypsy Moth

Kiba, on Gypsy Moth's grey boyfriend named Superman

Shino, on a red bay mare called Katie

Lee, on a dark bay brown gelding called Apollo

Neji, on a paloose named Riko

Tenten, on a red bay named Anna

Garaa, on a red chestnut called Kylie

Kankurou, on another red bay named (what else?) Red

Temari, on a fast cream buckskin named Chiv

Ai, on a small but flighty grey mare called Sophie

Sore, on a slightly obese grey named Toby

Chou-Chou, on a light grey mare named Heaven

Kamari, on a pinto pony called Charlie

Itachi, on a grey Caspian Pony called PJ (PJ was SHORT!)

Kisame, on an adorable dark brown pony called Scottie

Yumi, on a cute little piebald Shetland named Merlin

And Kakashi, on a very jumpy palouse named Clancy, who nearly bolted every time he saw something...

Compared to their last horseride, this ride was pretty uneventful. They just rode along nicely, those who wanted to did a bit of cantering and as such.

Oh, Shino got thrown off, Musha got thrown off _twice_, Kakashi got taken into the bushes a few times, and Kai ended up cantering once even though you're not supposed to _do_ that...

All in all, it was a great ride, and Emma was soooo happy to be back on her favourite pony again.

And, she was glad to see that Yumi had a lot of fun, and even did a rising trot a few times, which meant that she'd soon be ready to start cantering.

Emma would write it like this: CANTERING.



It was such a cool word.



Right up there with:

. Pie

. Chicken

. Jacqu Sharacqu

. Look-See

. Shark

(Especially SHARK - it even _sounded_ dangerous!)

They all went to bed that night, and dreamt about _Sharks On A Train_.

"_Country Roads, Take Me home, to the place, that I belong..._" Emma was singing. She finished the song, and everyone clapped.

Everyone seemed to be singing country and western songs that day. Whether it was _Sweet Home Alabama_ or _Rock This Country_, everyone sang one.

Even Hoshi, whom had shown up the night before. She sung _If My Heart Had Wings_.

Everyone exchanged a glance.

Temari was in a very bad mood that day, as often does happen. Every single little thing was annoying her. Other people, Naruto, the _sun_...

So, Shikamaru took her, Kamari, Kisame, Chouji and Mari to Knott's Berry Farm. Naruto decided to take his family to Disney World, and Neji, Tenten, Lee, Sakura, Ino and Sasuke decided to tag along, just for the Mickey Mouse Ears.

"This is super strange..." Kai whispered to Emma, and she agreed whole-heartedly, as The Sound Ninja and Sore decided to go to Sea World (there was an ocean to 

their left) and Kai ran to catch up with them.

Emma was wondering: _Earth followed us here??_



It was decided then that Shino, Mushi, Kiba, Musha, Akamaru, Kakashi and Itachi were going to go to Water Bom Park.

Which left Emma, Kankurou, Garaa and Yumi to go to Adventure World.

"Why did I come here?" Garaa and Kankurou asked at the same time, as they stepped through the front gates wearing bright red wrist bands.

For that, Emma just gave them both an Icy Look, handed Yumi to Garaa, and then dragged Kankurou onto The Tunnel Of Terror.

Garaa and Yumi watched and waited.

"Wait for it..." Garaa whispered.

"aaaaaaAAAAAAUUUURRRGGHHH!!" Kankurou started screaming from the very top to the very bottom but, when he and Emma stepped out, Kankurou hadn't even gotten wet!

"Ha!" He said triumphantly, hands on hips and facing Emma, so that he didn't see it when...WHOOSH!

The next pair came zooming down, and Kankurou got totally splashed!

Emma burst into giggles. Kankurou gave her a Look, and then lunged for her. Emma yelped and, still laughing, began to run.

Kankurou, grinning, gave chase. And, his brother holding Yumi, sighed and followed them.

"Are you okay Emma-Chan?" Garaa already knew the answer.

Emma lay on a limestone wall, staring up at the sky she'd just met. Slowly, very slowly, she turned her head 

to face Kankurou, and said: "I don't like you very much."

With a straight face, he replied: "I know..."



Only Emma, whom was still scared of heights, could freak out at The Rampage which spins you around, Turbo Mountain which is a _very_ fast roller-coaster, The Power Surge which dangles your feet as it spins you all over the place AND Bounty's Revenge which is fairly tame but still pretty high up!

And, only Kankurou could EVER get away with putting her on those rides in the first place!

"Ah, this is _much_ better..." Emma said a few minutes later, as they cruised along in boats. Well, next to her, Kankurou was doing all of the peddling for _their_ boat, and Garaa was helping Yumi to peddle.

They climbed out, and Emma checked her watch. "We have time to do one more thing." She told the others. "And," She added firmly. "This must _not_ be something more then three feet above the ground!"

"Three of your feet or three of mine?" Kankurou asked her slyly.

Emma and Garaa _both_ glared at him, until Yumi suddenly gasped. "Bad man back!" She cried, and leapt into Emma's arms.

They were on guard instantly, as the black-clad ninja from before ran towards them.

Garaa moved his hands. "SAND COFFIN!" He cried.

The sand around them zoomed towards the man and grabbed a hold of him, ceasing his running. But, he still grabbed a shuriken, and threw it straight at Emma and Yumi!

Emma gasped, and Kankurou moved. He grabbed Emma just like before and moved her out of the way. The shuriken clipped his arm, and he grimaced, as 

Emma looked angry, set Yumi down behind her, and then turned to the trapped man.

"AOI..." She began but, just then, you-know-who turned up!

Hoshi appeared from nowhere, just beside Kankurou. She turned to the strange man, clapped a hand over her mouth, and cried (through it): "YOU!"



"You _know_ him!?" Kankurou exclaimed to her.

She turned to him, seriousness in her violet eyes. "Of course I do!" She cried. "He's..."

"BIANCA FIRE!" The man suddenly yelled, and Garaa's sand was destroyed, and the fire raced straight at Emma and Kankurou!

But, Hoshi was quick to move, too!

She threw up her hands and yelled: "EBONY FIRE!"

_Ebony!?_ Emma thought.

Black fire rushed to meet the man's white fire, and they collided in mid-air. There was a flash of bright light and, when it had cleared, the strange man was nowhere to be seen.

Hoshi turned to Kankurou and Emma then.

She said: "I was saving myself, and Kankurou, got it?"

Emma stared straight into her eyes and said through gritted teeth: "Got it..."


	10. Three Things Emma Disliked



NARUTO

All I Need To Know

CHAPTER TEN

Three Things Emma Disliked

The first happened the following day, when the idols faced their first round of eliminations, and the second happened the following round, called DUETS.

The first elimination was horrible for her, because FOUR idols got kicked out!! FOUR!

They were:

Zaku

Sore

Sakura

And Mari!

Emma was furious, but what could she do? The crowd _had_ voted...hadn't they?

Sore thought: _I cannot say anything without looking like a sore loser...but Hoshi CHEATED. That is not right..._

The next part Emma hated was the DUETS.

Why?

Because, of course, Hoshi got paired up with Kankurou. She was thrilled...but...she didn't have to hug him like that!

Another part Emma disliked was when Hoshi told Mushi and Musha that Neji and Sasuke were gay, just because they were singing together.

_THEY'RE ENGAGED TO TENTEN AND INO!!_ Inner-Emma angrily yelled.

And, Emma was singing with Garaa.



Sasuke and Neji went first, singing _Promises_ by Savage Garden. Emma thought that they were really good, but Hoshi still snickered.

Mushi and Musha just glanced at each other.

_Hmm..._ Thought Emma. _And yet...and yet I wonder..._

She suddenly realised that it was time for Kankurou and Hoshi to sing.

She was calm, though, because Kankurou had told her that they were singing _Breaking Free_, which was not really a love song.

So, was Emma ever surprised - and startled - when it turned out that Kankruou and Hoshi were singing _At The Beginning With You_, which _was_ one!

She thought about the song she and Garaa were going to sing next, _Time Of My Life_, ran over to him, said something, and then the two of them ran back to the studio room on the farm to practice their _other_ song.

They stepped onto the stage. Emma was very calm. Garaa was too.

"_I will always be with you, I'll be by your side, whatever you do..._" Garaa sung.

"_Even if we're apart, now we're joined at the heart, though our moment may be gone..._" Emma trilled.

Together, they sung the chorus. "_I will always be with you, like a guardian angel, constant and true..._"

Emma sung with _strength_. She was very certain that it had been Hoshi who'd changed her and Kankurou's song at the very last minute.

"_When you're lost in the night, and you can't see the light_..." Emma sung.

"_My love will see you through!_" Garaa sounded great! "_I will always be there..._"

"_You'll have me there!_" Emma added.



"_I will always be with you..._" They finished.



Kankurou was watching from backstage. His face was expressionless.

Next, came the solo songs, and everyone was prepared, especially Emma.

Kankurou tried to talk to her, but she was 'busy'. She smiled at him a few times, though.

Sasuke sung _Far Away_ by Nickelback.

Then, Neji sung _Let's Kick It Up_ from Digimon Adventure 02.

Garaa went next, and he sung another Savage Garden song called _I Want You_. Hmm...

Then, there was Hoshi. And she sung..._Want_, by Disturbed.

Emma nearly died.

Kankurou went up next. He sung _Hazard_, by Richard Marx (the duet he did with Hoshi was originally by Richard Marx and Donna Lewis).

Hoshi thought it was for her.

Emma prayed it was for her.

Kankurou was singing it for Emma, of course.

Then, Emma went onstage.

What did she sing?

_Call Me When You're Sober_, by Evanescence.

Kankurou winced. He knew that _that_ one was for him!

The third thing Emma disliked was what she saw that very night, and it was the worst things of all.

She didn't know why she got up. She didn't know why she walked by the kitchen.

And she didn't know why she saw Hoshi kiss Kankurou on the lips.



It took Garaa a long time to figure out why Emma was playing _Hell_ and _Decadence_ on the farm's piano. He finally figured it out when he saw Hoshi drift by, and Kankurou came by a minute later.

He had black lipstick on his chin.

Only Hoshi wore black lipstick.

Kankurou didn't even stop. He just went back to his room, and Hoshi went back to hers.

"_Save me, from wreaking my vengeance upon you to, killing more then I can tell! Soul of the night I know..._" Was about all Emma got up to, before she started to cry hot and angry hysterical tears, and Garaa had to hold her.

Luckily, Jaws swooped in with the message that Yumi's parents were going to meet them in Silver Shell Bay, where they were heading next.

Emma stood up when Jaws had finished talking, bowed to Garaa, and then ran. She crashed through the window, transforming herself into the red dragon Tatsujuu, and soared away into the night.

She collapsed into her bed at quarter to six.

They were awoken at five fifty-five.


	11. What Their Problem Actually Is

NARUTO

All I Need To Know

CHAPTER ELEVEN

What Their Problem Actually Is...

"Do you know what Emma and Kankurou's problem is now?" Temari exclaimed. "It's not Hoshi mostly, it's that they just won't _talk_ to each other!"

They were on _another _train, but this one was more like a Trailmon from Digimon. Emma and Kankurou were in a different carriage, with Kai, whom had proposed to Kin that morning (as Emma sleepily shuffled through her morning routine).

Temari was talking now to Garaa, Neji, Tenten, Shino, Mushi and Mari (Chouji was, where else? Eating).

"No," Garaa said clearly. "The problem is when Kankurou walks past with black lipstick on his chin and doesn't even notice Emma's upset."

"Hoshi _kissed_ Kankurou!?" Mari squealed. "Eew!"

"Ssh!" Mushi told her, as she played Go Bug with Shino. "Yes. She did. Hoshi really, really likes him." She added, and the others nodded. "But, she's not really a bad person. She's just...she hasn't had much luck with men..."

Musha appeared suddenly, and sat down beside her. "Hoshi changed recently, though. She keeps talking about how she wants to _kill_ Emma to get to Kankurou...and, she threatened to kill Mushi and me if we abandoned her...which...we have..."



"Don't do that." A voice said, and they all looked up to see Emma, standing there like a zombie. But, she still said in a clear and calm voice: "Hoshi needs someone on her side at the moment. Don't desert her."

"Em-Chan, she's trying to steal your boyfriend!!" Mari exclaimed crossly.

Emma shrugged, and Neji decided that it was time to step in. Emma had recently developed a fascination with coffee, and Neji thought that he needed one too, so he led her down the train towards the canteen.

"She's too nice, you know." Mushi sighed. "Go bug." She told Shino. To Musha she said: "Where is Hoshi, anyways?"

"I dunno, she could be anywhere, since she can..."

"Change shape?" Garaa's voice was sharp. He sighed, and stood up. "Better go find Sasuke." He muttered, and stalked off.

The others traded puzzled glances, until they remembered how Sasuke and Garaa could do that too.

Neji came back then with a BIG Cuppa.

Emma was right behind him, balancing her VERY BIG Cuppa. Mari and Mushi giggled.

Kiba came by then looking for Musha, and the two of them decided to give Akamaru a bath.

Akamaru wasn't too keen on this idea.

And neither was the Trailmon.

He dumped them all out in the middle of a mountain forest and drove off.

The train tracks vanished...

Emma, Mari, Kai, Kin, Zaku, Dosu, Kankurou, Garaa, Temari, Shikamaru, Chouji, Ino, Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Hinata, Kiba, Akamaru, Shino, Neji, Tenten, Lee, Ai, Sore, Jaws, Pinku, Kakashi, Chou-Chou, 

Kamari, Itachi, Kisame, Yumi, Mushi, Musha and Hoshi all exchanged a thirty-five way glance.

Yumi started to wail...


	12. I Choose LIFE!

NARUTO

All I Need To Know

CHAPTER TWELVE

I Choose LIFE!!

And, wouldn't you know it, Trailmon dumped them out in a glade ruled by grizzly bears.

"AAUURRGGHH!!" Emma, Mari, Kai, Kin, Zaku, Dosu, Kankurou, Garaa, Temari, Shikamaru, Chouji, Ino, Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Hinata, Kiba, Akamaru, Shino, Neji, Tenten, Lee, Ai, Sore, Jaws, Pinku, Kakashi, Chou-Chou, Kamari, Itachi, Kisame, Yumi, Mushi, Musha and Hoshi screamed, as they ran for their lives, and the grizzlies gave chase.

"GRR!" Said the grizzly bears.

"AAUURRGGHH!!" Everyone screamed.

(Well, Akamaru, Jaws and Pinku weren't exactly _screaming_, but, you know...)

"OW!" Tenten tripped and fell.

Neji stopped immediately, and ran back to help her.

One grizzly lunged for them, but Naruto came flying out of nowhere and hit it with a round-house kick. Hinata came running back too, with Chou-Chou in her arms, as Neji and Naruto fought the bear.

Up ahead, more trouble took place, when Chouji fell down a hill, and one of the grizzly bears followed him.

"NOOOOOOOO!!" Mari howled, and dove in after them.

"Oh bloody hell..." Kai followed after her and Kin, Dosu, Zaku, Sore and Ai thought that they'd better go too and lend him a hand.



"Why the hell am _I_ running!?" Kiba asked, slamming on the breaks.

"KIBA-CHAN!" Musha cried, as she came running back to him.

Mushi, Akamaru, Shino and Kisame were right behind her, as Akamaru growled and attacked the attacking grizzly, which was a particularly _fat_ one, just like Chouji (sorry). Kiba joined in, glad for a little bit of action!

Lee, who had Itachi, suddenly felt a grizzly's claw around his ankle, and he fell.

Sasuke wheeled around. "ITACHI-CHAN!" He yelled, and ran back to help.

"SASUKE-CHAN!" Ino yelled at the same time Sakura screamed: "LEE-CHAN!" Both of them ran back too, followed by Kakashi and Pinku.

Emma realised that they'd all been separated, and she grabbed Kankurou's hand and yelled: "EVERYONE STAY TOGETHER!"

Suddenly, one of the grizzly bears grabbed onto her ankle.

She screamed, as blood splashed from the wound mirroring Lee's, and she and the bear crashed down another hill.

"EMMA-CHAN!!" Temari, Garaa, Yumi and Shikamaru all screamed.

Jaws went hurtling into the trees after her, and Yumi suddenly lost her balance too and fell after them.

The last grizzly suddenly attacked those still standing on top of the hill, and they had no choice but to fight it, until Kamari fell also.

"MY SON!!" Temari screamed, and Shikamaru had to grab her to stop her from going after him.



"EMMA WILL GET HIM, HE'LL BE FINE!" Shikamaru 

shouted, as Temari sobbed. Shikamaru wasn't about to let her do what Mari had done for Chouji (though, technically, he thought that maybe his and Temari's _son_ was more important to them then Mari's fiancé might be to her, but she'd probably have disagreed completely with him if he said that to her)...

"EMI-CHAN!!" Kankurou yelled over the cliff, and Garaa had to stop him from jumping.

Everyone started to feel a little suicidal in that forest just then...

Down in the canyon, Yumi, Jaws and Kamari watched in horror as Emma tangled with the 2 tonne grizzly. It was bloody and painful for both her _and_ the bear, until Emma finally screamed: "SCARLET FIRE!!"

Fire redder then the reddest red lit up the glade they were in, scorching the bear alive until the smell of roasting grizzly filled their nostrils.

"It's dead." Emma assured the kids, who finally ran to her and threw their arms around her. She soothed them as, suddenly, Chief trotted into the glade, and Jaws circled like a vulture.

"Well, we have food and transport, so let's camp here tonight and then find everyone tomorrow." Emma said.

It turned out that Chief was wearing saddle bags and, in them, somehow, were:

. Three sleeping bags

. Marshmallows

. Meltable chocolate

. Thermoses for water

. And a book called _How To Prepare A Grizzly Bear For _

_Three_.

Emma and the kids ate, talked a little, and then Emma sung lullaby after lullaby until the kids fell asleep.

Chief grazed nearby, and Jaws dozed on his whithers, as Emma stared into the fire.



"I should go and look for the others." She decided and Tatsujuu thought this was a fine idea. So, he separated himself from her body, as they do sometimes, and Emma stood guard whilst Tatsujuu flew off.

Presently, he came across Sore and Gobi Karasu.

"Where's Emma?" She asked him.

Tatsujuu told her, and then said: "Emma, Kamari and Yumi were separated from the others. They've got that bird and the horse with them. She's hurt, but not too badly, she healed most of her wounds but she can't walk. She'll have to ride, but I don't think she will. She'll let the kids ride instead. Poor Chief. Anyways, we should all try to meet up at the same place."

"Okay." She agreed straight away. "Let's say over _there_, where the two mountains form a valley, that place is called _Crystal-Brook Falls_."

"Fine." Tatsujuu growled. "Just don't expect us to bring you any grizzly meat."

"Don't worry, we have our own." She smirked (can ravens smirk?).

They flew off in separate directions.

Naruto was standing on a rock.

"YOU WON'T BEAT ME, FOREST!!" He bellowed. "I CHOOSE LIIIIIIIIFE!!" He added.

Birds took flight in a panic.

"Oh boy…" Tenten muttered, as she and Hinata watched him.

Naruto ran off somewhere, calling over his shoulder that he'd be the one to find some food.



He was back, two minutes later, sobbing on the rock.

"WE'RE DOOOOOOOOMED!!" He wailed.

"Baka…" Neji murmured.


	13. The Car, The River & The Travelling Game

NARUTO

All I Need To Know

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The Car, The River And The Travelling Game

Tenten, with a sprained ankle, woke up the next morning to:

"Look! A car! We're saved!"

"Hooray!"

"We can use the car to get to Crystal-Brook Falls now!"

"It's a V_12_ Commadore too, impressive!"

"How did _you_ know _that_?"

Shrug. "Kai mentioned it to me once, back on Earth."

"And, right now, I wish that Kai were _here_..."

"Huh? And why's _that_, Hinata-Chan?"

"Oh, Nari-Chan, don't worry! It's just because Kai can _drive_, that's all!"

"Oh."

"Mummy? Daddy? Uncle-Neji? Can we _go_ now?"

"Sure, just let me...uh...wake up Auntie-Tenten..."

Tenten opened her eyes and sat up, ready to leave the 'bed' made of pine-needles. "I'm up." She said, climbing unsteadily to her foot, and wishing that one of them knew a better healing Jutsu, or that one of the other Leaf Kunoichi or Temari were here. She hopped over to them, and found what they were looking at. "Good Lord..." She muttered.



Later on, if any one of them had stopped to _think_, they might've had doubts because it looked as if the car had just been driven (silently) up to their overnight sleeping 

area, abandoned with good intentions, and then left there still intact, keys and all (and not burned to a crisp courtesy of a Long Match and one or more bottles of kerosine).

It even had Frangi Pani stickers on the back window, a maroon leather interior, automatic windows, cruise control, the two V6 engines, a CD player, BIG drink holders, and a fuzzy ride dice hanging from the rear-vision mirror (to match the shiny red paint on the car's body).

They all climbed into the car, whose number plates read LZTYBRN (Al's Toy Barn? Lousy Try Bryan? Life-Insurance Zero That You Bird-Brains Really Neglected?).

Hinata, Tenten and Chou-Chou were in the back. Naruto and Neji were in the front.

Naruto was driving.

"Uh oh." Tenten murmured, double-checking her safety-belt, as Hinata gave Chou-Chou a random crash helmet.

Neji gave Naruto a Look that said 'you kill us, and just _see_ how I scratch out your eyes in our next lives'...

Naruto rolled his eyes, started up the engine, put his foot on the brakes, put the car into drive, took off the handbrake, and took his foot off of the brakes.

He tapped the accelerator.

SHOOMP!!

The car shot forward, and every yelped, as Naruto stepped on the brakes again, and the car stopped straight away.

"There's a kid in the back, be _careful_, Naruto-Bozu!" Neji said, sounding like Sasuke.

"OhmyGodwe'regonnadie! OhmyGodwe'regonnadie!" Tenten gasped, as they shot forward again, and Neji 

yelled at Naruto again.

"You can use that log to cross The Raging Torrents Of Doom." Kai pointed across to the other side, where The Sound Ninja and Sore had already jumped.



Chouji, with a sprained ankle, nodded.

But Mari, with a matching injury, put her (good) foot down, and said: "_Noooo_ way, not _this_ kunoichi!"

Everyone looked at her.

"Every time groups get separated," She said crossly. "They end up having to cross some bottomless pit or canyon of pointy rocks, or something! And _somehow_, the _only_ way to do it is to use some big tipping boulder, ancient vine or _that_ log! And the _girl_ is _always_ stuck at the back of the line! Falling off, or getting chased by something with _teeth_! Well, _I_ am NOT going to be like those girls!!"

The others were silent.

"Sooo..." Kai said slowly and calmly. "What'dya wanna do about it?"

Mari blinked in surprise, and then she said firmly: "Well...in _this_ situation?"

The others all nodded encouragingly.

"_I'm_ going to...go first!" She said triumphantly. "That way, if there's trouble, it _won't_ be involving yours truly! No! Mari is going to be _safe_!"

"Fine, see you on the other side then." Kai shrugged, and leapt across the canyon, which really _was_ named The Raging Torrents Of Doom, on account of the rapids running eternally below it.

And, wouldn't you know it, trouble happened at both ends, when the log couldn't hold Chouji and Mari's 

combined weights anymore, and snapped.

There was a moment of silence, where Chouji and Mari looked at Kai, Kin, Zaku, Dosu, Sore and Ai in stunned silence, and they looked back at them.

Then, Chouji and Mari looked at each other, grabbed onto one another for dear life, and plummeted into the white-water rapids used for rafting below them!



Kai wanted to jump, but Kin held him back. Sore became Gobi Kurasu, and swiftly flew down to follow them.

"IT'S A TWO WAY STREAM!!" Ai yelled after her. "GO THE OTHER WAY!!"

The crow doubled back and did so, following Mari and Chouji upstream.

The Sound Ninja and Kai were too stunned to even move.

They had been walking along in silence for about two minutes since moving on to Crystal-Brook Falls (the raven had found them the night before) when Musha and Kisame (both riding on Akamaru's back) said at the same time: "I'm _bo-o-ored_!!"

Kiba, Shino and Mushi stopped, and turned around to face them.

"When we _get_ there!?" Kisame complained.

"_We'll get there when we get there, Kisame-Chan_..." Kiba said tightly, feeling soreness around his swollen jawbone. _Note to self, _no_ more talking _until _we get there..._

"Remember when we always used to play 'Grandma's Trunk' to pass the travelling time, Musha-Chan?" Mushi suggested. "Let's try that."



"Okay." Musha agreed, and they began to walk again (or ride and let Akamaru walk again).

"Okay, here goes," Musha began. "I'm going to Grandma's house, and I'm taking an...Afghan-Hound with me." She smiled brightly at Mushi. "Your turn, Mushi-Chan!"

"Okay then. I'm going to Grandma's house, and I'm taking an Afghan-Hound and a...beetle, mochiron!" Mushi nodded at Shino. "It's your turn, and it needs to start with a 'C'."



"Hmm, okay then..." Shino said, understanding how the game worked. "I'm going to Grandma's house, and I'm taking an Afghan-Hound, a beetle, and a...caterpillar!" He noticed a neon-green caterpillar crawling up a tree-trunk beside them as they passed by. "Like _that_ one." He added, and everyone else laughed. "Your turn, Kisame-Chan. Do you understand it?"

"Uh huh. I like 'memry' games!" Kisame grinned. "Okay, I go to Grandma's howse, and I take Afghan-Hound, beetle, a 'cat-piller' and...a dodecahedron!"

"A _WHAT_!!" Mushi, Musha and Kiba screeched.

"A shape with twelve plane faces." Shino explained quietly to them, and then nodded over at Kiba, whom paused.

And then, he said: "I'm going to my Grandma's house, and I'm taking an Afghan-Hound, a beetle, a caterpillar, a dodecahedron and...an Elkhound!"

"Is that a dog?" Mushi wondered.

"I think so." Musha replied, and she and Kiba smiled at each other.

_Hmm_... Thought Mushi.

Musha went on: "I'm going to Grandma's house, and I'm taking an Afghan-Hound, a beetle, a caterpillar, a 

dodecahedron, an Elkhound, and a fire-hydrant!"

Mushi grinned. "Okay then, _I'm_ going to Grandma's house, and I'm taking an Afghan-Hound, a beetle, a caterpillar, a dodecahedron, an Elkhound, a fire-hydrant and _two_ green grasshoppers!"

"Ooh, _two_ 'G's'!" Musha laughed.

"Alright," Shino said. "I'm going to Grandma's house, and I'm taking an Afghan-Hound, a beetle, a caterpillar, a dodecahedron, an Elkhound, a fire-hydrant, two green grasshoppers and a huge house-fly!"



"Eew!" Kisame cried, laughing. "Me turn!" He added, as they walked along a narrow rock-face. "I go to Grandma's house, and I take Afghan-Hound, beetle, a 'cat-piller', a dodecahedron, 'El-luukhound', a 'fire-hy'rant', two gween gwasshoppews, a _huge_ house-fly," He said, dramatically. "And an isosceles triangle!"

"Emma will be thrilled," Kiba whispered to Shino. "The kid's a genius!"

Shino nodded, and then he whispered back: "Think she's okay? Gobi Karasu said she'd gotten hurt."

"Knowing Emma, she's probably worried about _us_." Kiba shrugged, and then he said: "And I'm going to my Grandma's house, and I'm taking an Afghan-Hound, a beetle, a caterpillar, a dodecahedron, an Elkhound, a fire-hydrant, two green grasshoppers, a huge house-fly, an isosceles triangle and a jackal pack!"

The game would've continued then with something like a King's Yorkshire Terrier and a lone cricket.

Continued it would have been, had a pack of jackals not stepped out of a crevice and given chase!

"I thought that," Musha yelled, as they ran (or rode) along at top speed. "That jackals didn't usually hunt _in_ packs!"

"Tell that to _them_!" Kiba replied, feeling another jaw-ache coming along.

MEG: You know, I REALLY feel now as if there was no need for this chapter…


	14. 1 Ninja’s Nightmare Nother’s Melting Pot

NARUTO

All I Need To Know

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

One Ninja's Nightmare Is Another's Melting Pot

MEG: What's a Melting Pot, huh??

"Look, for _the last time_, _Temari-San_," Garaa was trying to be patient. "There are _no_ cougars in this neck of the woods!"

"But I _saw_ them!" She whimpered stubbornly, as they trudged along.

"In a _dream_, that was all." Shikamaru said reasonably.

"And _don't_ anyone start singing _Reduced To Nothingness_," Garaa added warningly. "Or else I _will_. You got it?"

"Yes, sir!" Temari, Shikamaru, Kankurou and even Hoshi yelped.

"What was _that_?" Sakura whispered in fear.

The bushed in front of then rustled. Everyone held their breaths in fear. Ino clung to Sasuke clung to Itachi.

The rustling grew louder.

They were ready to bolt (if Lee could do that, his ankle _still_ hurt despite Sakura and Ino's combined attempts at healing Jutsus to repair it).



The leaves parted.

Lee was trembling uncontrollably.

A squirrel stepped out.

Everyone stared at it as if they expected it to turn into an Eraser 1 or something.



Then, Lee frowned as only Lee can. "Hmmph! What do _you_ want?" He asked it, angry at being seen scared by Sakura.

The squirrel held up a half-empty bottle of Sake.

"Oh, for me, I dunno what to say!" Lee pretended to be pleased.

"Uh...Lee-Kun?" Kakashi murmured.

Ino's mouth dropped open.

Lee glared at the squirrel. "Move aside, _buddy_!" He snapped at it.

Sakura began to back away in fear. Sasuke handed Itachi to her.

"And _don't_ smirk at me!" Lee sharply told the squirrel.

Sasuke tapped Lee's shoulder. "Look behind it." He said blankly.

Lee finally looked up.

The six foot two squirrel looked back down at him.

Lee's mouth fell open.

"HAWROOOOOAAARRR!!" The monster roared. It stomped, and the ninjas all fell as the ground gave way beneath them.

(Seen _The Emperor's New Groove_? That was _nothing_ compared to _this_...)

They all screamed, as they landed in an underground cavern with only one exit.

They all stopped screaming.

Sixty-two cougars stood on rock formations around them.



Kakashi was shaking. "Just back away towards the exit, _slowly_..." He said.

He turned to the cougars.

One of them said: "Oh really? You and what army?" It grinned.

He looked around him.

Sasuke, Lee, Ino and Sakura holding Itachi and with Pinku in her hair had already long vanished.



Kakashi sighed. "Why me?" He asked nobody in particular, as the cougars pursued him out of the cavern to the _Rocket Run_ music from _DKC3_.

"Must ran faster!" Sasuke was yelling to Sakura.

"I could if your brother wasn't _choking_ me!"

"I want to go hoo-oo-oome!" Ino wailed.

"Ditto!" Lee added, hopping along on one foot.

"Look! There's a vine!" Sakura pointed, and they all ran for it as Kakashi reached them.

"AAUURRGGHH!!" Kakashi, Sakura and Sasuke shrieked as they swung across a canyon with Crocigators in it.

"KANGA-KANGA-KANGASKHAN!" Ino found herself yelling.

"ME TARZAN! AAA-AAA!" Lee couldn't resist adding.

"WATCH OUT FOW THAT..." Itachi began, but it was too late.

Sakura, Lee, Ino, Sasuke and Kakashi slammed head-on into a nearby cedar.

"Twee..." Itachi added meekly, landing on his feet as the others fell dazed to the ground.

1 Erasers were shape-changers from Maximum Ride. Max once joked about a squirrel turning Eraser (I think)...


	15. KKDZATNNHCLISISKP

NARUTO

All I Need To Know

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

KKDZATNNHCLISISKP

**ALSO KNOWN AS THE REUNION OF KAI, KIN, DOSU, ZAKU AND AI, TENTEN, NEJI, NARUTO, HINATA AND CHOU-CHOU, AND LEE, ITACHI, SASUKE, INO, SAKURA, KAKASHI AND PINKU, FOLLOWED BY A FEW OTHERS**

"Well, here we are, Crystal-Brook Falls!" Kin said finally, and promptly collapsed onto a nearby rock. Kai sat with her, concerned, as Dosu and Zaku checked out their surroundings.

"Come back if you find something!" Kai called to them.

"And if we don't?" They asked at the same time.

"You will!"

And, they did!

They found Lee, Itachi, Sasuke, Ino, Sakura, Kakashi and Pinku, virtually dead-tired but otherwise fine.

They all trooped back to the falls, which were beautiful and majestic, and there was a happy reunion.

Sasuke suddenly said: "Do you hear that?"

"Hmm?" Ino was healing left, and Sakura was healing right, but everyone heard it.

BA-BOOM...BA-BOOM...

Kai cocked his head to one side for a moment, before finally saying: "Sounds like...The Rogue Traders..._We're Coming Home_..."

They all looked at one another. "NARUTO!" They cried.



Naturally, Naruto drove the car in just then, didn't stop in time, and it went into the drink with an incredible splash.

Everyone jumped out of the windows.

"OW!" Tenten had to yell, as she landed painfully, and Sakura ran to heal her, whilst Sasuke and Neji _both_ yelled at Naruto, and Chou-Chou ran to see the others, with Hinata following shakily (her knees were trembling, she'd never been so scared in her entire life before!). And, when Kai asked her how they got the car, she had no answer for him.

They all sat down and discussed what had happened since they'd been separated, like which party knew what and the other _didn't_ know, that kinda thing.

Ino mentioned seeing a raven like Gobi Kurasu (in her small form) flying overhead just before she and her group got here. "She looked like she was headed in this direction." Ino added, and Dosu nodded with visible relief.

"Good." He said quietly. "That's good."

Ai knew why he was extra worried about Sore...

Around midday the following day, Kiba and his group showed up, along with Mari, Chouji and Sore, and there were _more_ happy and sometimes even _tearful_ reunions.

"I hope that she's okay and gets here soon." Mari said quietly, referring to Emma.

"I hope that the _rest_ of them are okay, too." Kai added, referring to Yumi, Jaws, Kamari, Temari, Kankurou and _maybe_ Shikamaru and Garaa.

"I hope that Hoshi's okay." Mushi and Musha said together, and nobody said anything, until Shino and 

Kiba said in unison: "Me too."

Slowly, the others nodded.

Did they mean it?


	16. The Fight

NARUTO

All I Need To Know

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

The Fight

PRESENT:

KANKUROU: I...I don't believe it...I don't _want_ to believe it...what's just happened...it's...I...and now I've lost _both_ of them...wait! What am I _saying_!? Shouldn't I be...

TEMARI: More concerned about just _one_ of them?

GARAA: Say...Emma?

KANKUROU: ... I...I am! _Much, MUCH_ more concerned about her then Hoshi!

SHIKAMARU: Oh? _Really_?

KANKUROU: ... :(

FLASHBACK:

_This is way too weird. Somebody up their likes us..._

_No, somebody up there likes YOU! There's a fair bet that Chance, Bond and Dream are doing all of this for you, you know?_

_D'ya think so? Hmm..._

Chief's saddle-bags kept on refilling with whatever it was that they needed (except , maybe, a way out of the woods) and Emma was glad that she, the kids and the animals wouldn't starve.



They were just sitting down to a hearty meal of PBJ's. Emma was, of course, making meals for the kids first, buttering the bread, applying the right amounts of peanut butter and jelly, serving it properly: crunchy peanut butter and green jelly cut into halves for Kamari, 

and smooth peanut butter and purple jelly cut into quarters for Yumi, before she even _touched_ her own food.

And, that was when Hoshi wandered into the glade.

Emma jumped up. "Hoshi-San!" She cried.

Hoshi looked up and raised an eyebrow. "Oh." She said, in a bored voice. "It's _you_. I thought you might be..." Her voice trailed off, and her eyes narrowed. "Where'd you get the food?" She asked, indicating to the Meal Of The Day (last night had been more bear meat with scrambled eggs and French fries - let's face it, Emma gets points for originality!)

Emma shrugged, and pointed to Chief's saddle-bags. "They keep filling up." She said, by means of explanation. "Umm...Hoshi-San? Where are...Kankurou and the others? Are they okay?"

Hoshi snapped: "How should _I_ know? I got separated from Kanky and the others in a big cave under the mountain." She meant the one they were parked beside. "Are you gonna give me those saddle-bags or not?"

The question took Emma by surprise. "What?" She asked, as Hoshi took a step forward. The kids stopped eating. "Hoshi-San, don't worry. We'll share with you, right guys?" She asked the kids, and they nodded earnestly. Emma turned back to Hoshi. "We can all look for the others together."

"Ha!" Hoshi laughed scornfully. "Why should I team up with you!? You're weak, you're a murderer, you're selfish and a slut!"

The kids gasped.

"I," Hoshi drew herself up. "Am The Great Hoshi!" She narrowed her eyes at them. "And _you_..."

"Yes?" Emma said, quietly.



Anger built up inside of her. Anger she'd kept inside for a long time now.



Hoshi didn't know about Tatsujuu.

"You are," Hoshi retorted. "A selfish slut, a pigeon that won't shut up, some old pack-mule and two childish brats! So hand the saddle-bags over!"

Emma's eyes turned red. "Take that back..." She said in a low voice.

"Make me." Hoshi snapped.

"DON'T YOU _EVER_ CALL THE BRATS!!" Emma screamed, and lunged at Hoshi.

Yumi shrieked, as Emma slammed into Hoshi, and the two of them began to fight.

And Kamari yelled at the top of his lungs: "MUMMY!! DADDY!!"

"Quiet you!" Hoshi snarled at him, and lunged towards him in her anger. "I'll shut your mouth for _good_!"

Emma's eyes stopped glowing red, and she gasped. "NO!" She cried, and lunged at Hoshi, fire dancing around her hands and arms. She grabbed onto Hoshi and drew her away from the kids, just as Shikamaru, Temari, Garaa and Kankurou ran into the glade.

"LET GO OF ME, BITCH! Hoshi screamed.

But, now Emma's eyes were glowing _golden_, as she yelled: "NOT THIS TIME! FIRE OF KIN!!"

Gold flames enveloped both of their bodies, and Kankurou let out a yell.

Emma suddenly seemed to realise that he was there, and she let go of Hoshi, who suddenly drew up her arms and yelled: "EBONY FIRE!"

There was a flash of light.

Emma dodged, and both girls fell. Emma fell to the ground, but Hoshi vanished over the side of a hill, still 

barely able to be seen through all of the flames.

They heard her land somewhere.



Emma stood up, and gingerly winced at her injuries.

Then, she looked up at Kankurou. "Hi." She smiled at him.

He didn't smile back at her. "Emma-Chan, what _was_ that?" He asked her sharply.

Emma was puzzled, until she realised that Kankurou hadn't seen Hoshi attack the kids. She laughed. "Don't worry, Kanky-Chan, I had to..."

"That was _golden_ fire, the hottest and most dangerous form of Fire," Kankurou told her angrily. "You _can't_ use that on someone you _know_!"

Emma was surprised. "Know? Yes, we know Hoshi, but we don't _like_ her, do we?"

"Who said _that_?" Kankurou said, without even thinking.

Emma's face went pale.

Garaa was glaring at Kankurou.

Temari and Shikamaru hugged the kids.

"You think that way, don't you?" Emma muttered, remembering the night Hoshi had kissed Kankurou.

Kankurou didn't say anything.

"How do you see her?" Emma asked him.

"She's strange and possessive, but I think she's okay." Kankurou murmured, feeling light-headed all of a sudden. "She used Ebony Fire to protect herself from your golden fire, that's all. She'd never hurt anyone."

"Wrong!" Emma snapped.

Kankurou's eyes flashed. "Oh _really_!? Then how come _you_ were the one who attacked _her_!?"

Emma stared at him. "Do you _really_ want to know?"

"Go on, give me your _best_ excuse!" Kankurou retorted.

"Hoshi was going to kill Kamari." Emma said simply.



Temari gasped and held her son tightly.



"It's true." Yumi said quietly. "Aunty-Em try to be _nice_ to the mean lady when she show up hewe. We have magic saddle-bags, and Aunty-Em offer to _shawe_ with ebyone. But mean lady not _want_ shawe, she twy take saddle-bags all fow hewself! She call Aunty-Em swut..."

Temari gasped again.

"Be mean to pony and biwd, then she call me and Kamawi 'chidsh bwats'. Aunty-Em get _weally weally_ angwy, and twy to asqu mean lady to not say we bwats. Mean lady say _make me_, so Aunty-Em twy to make hew, then Kamawi call fow Aunty-Temy and Uncle-Shika, and mean lady say she shut his mowth fow _good_. So, Aunty-Em push mean lady away and twy to buwn hew, but mean lady get away!" She pouted.

Everyone stared at her. It was the most anyone had ever heard Yumi say before.

Temari looked over at Emma. "Emma-Chan...is this...true?"

Emma nodded.

Tears were in Temari's eyes. "Thank you so much for protecting Kamari, thank you..." She muttered.

Emma looked down. "No thanks necessary, I overreacted..."

"No, that's what _he_ said!" Garaa snapped, glaring at his brother. "He should be _thanking_ you, but instead he took Hoshi's side!"

"Emma-Chan...I'm sorry..." Kankurou began, but Emma cut him off.



"Once before," She said sadly. "I forgave you for wanting to sacrifice me. Once before, you forgave _me_ when Neji-Sama liked me. Mari-Chan and Kai-Chan did also. Mari has a relationship with Chouji. It is built on stability, food 

and trust. Kai and Kin also have a trusting love. And Neji-Sama and Tenten-Chan do as well. Most people that we know have this basis of _trust_ with one another..." Her voice was steady, and she wasn't crying. "Kankurou-Kun. I love you. More then I love anything else in existence. But...I do not trust you, and I know that you do not trust me. Look at how you still feel about Neji-Sama and Kiba-Chan, when I refer to them as I do. And Garaa-Chan, your own _brother_. You distrust him as much as you distrust _me_ at the moment. You think that he and I are in love. I will tell you...that there _is_ someone Garaa-Chan loves, but it is not me. We _love_ one another, but not in that way. The difference is that I also _trust_ Garaa-Chan. I trust Neji-Sama. And Kiba-Chan, Kai-Chan, Sasuke-Kun and Dosu-Kun. And Tenten, Musha, Kin, Ino and Sore-San trust _me_ to be just their friends. Without trust...you and I can _never_ be together."

Kankurou ran to her then, and hugged her. "EMI-CHAN, WE CAN MAKE IT WORK! WE CAN BUILD OUR TRUST!"

Emma burst into tears.

Jaws suddenly squawked. "Bwak! Go find others! Go find!" And he flew away, no doubt to find everyone else.

Chief suddenly threw up his head, and galloped off into the bushes.

"What _his_ problem?" Shikamaru wondered.

"We can't worry about it." Temari said firmly, picking up her son. "Let's go find the others before _she_ comes back!"

"Don't worry." Emma smiled. "I don't think she'll be coming back for a _very long time_." _I did a good job in more ways then one..._ She thought.

"Yeah, you messed her up pretty badly." Shikamaru 

agreed.

Garaa narrowed his eyes, as everyone else moved out of the glade towards the mountain.

"Brother, come on!" Kankurou called over his shoulder, with his arm around his girlfriend.

Garaa had no choice but to follow.

But, as he did, he unclipped the Protection Tag from his belt-loop, and tossed it over the side of the hill where the other girl had landed.



The Protection Tag landed next to the burnt hand of a badly injured kunoichi. The hand closed around the tag, the tag which would keep her safe until she recovered. Her eyes were closed tightly in pain, and her hair was singed and charred.

Her clothes were black with soot and ash, and her skin was both burned and stained like her clothes.

She was all alone in the world. No one was with her except this one solitary Protection Tag.

She opened her eyes, where tears swam around the masses of hazel-green.

"Garaa-Chan...please...protect him from...her..." She rasped, before she fainted.

It was Emma…

MEG: OH. MY. GOD.


	17. The Lake House

NARUTO

All I Need To Know

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

The Lake House

MEG: I don't own THE LAKE HOUSE, by James Patterson (READ IT!!) and I don't own any of the songs I've used…

Everyone was sad to hear what had happened with Hoshi, especially her two best friends. They cried endlessly, and Emma was the one to comfort them.

Garaa knew why. He also knew that he couldn't prove it yet.

The only other ones who knew were Sasuke, Sore...and Hoshi herself, posing as Emma.

Garaa felt that no one else could get that evil.

He decided to keep an eye on her.

They arrived at a lake with a hotel beside it, and decided to spend the night there.

Kankurou and Emma-Hoshi slept in the same room.

Sore as Gobi Kurasu stood guard, perched outside their window, and made sure that nothing happened.

She wasn't sure whether the others would believe her, Garaa and Sasuke or not.

The next day, they got on a normal, regular steam-train, which was going to take them to their final destination, called Shing City (coincidence?).

Not many people were sure why Jaws, who had shown up the night before, kept on leaving feathers every so 

often.

Emma-Hoshi didn't care. She had Kankurou. And that was all she wanted. She was quite sure that the _real_ Emma was now dead.

So, everything was just fine.



That evening, a light grey pony walked steadily and slowly up to the lake house. On his back, his rider was practically dead, and taken in by the hotel worker's immediately.

"Say, weren't you here this morning?" One of them asked her, as they healed her wounds.

"That was...my twin..." Emma mumbled. _Yeah, like, my _EVIL_ twin..._

_The only thing she hasn't got is _me

_Yeah, like she _needs_ a ten-tailed dragon like _you_! She _is_ one!_

_Yup..._

The next morning, Emma was good and ready to go - until she ran into that ninja who'd tried to kill Yumi before.

"YOU!" They cried at the same time, as they passed each other on the front lawn of the lake house.

Then...

"NOT AGAIN!"

And...

"THIS TIME WILL BE DIFFERENT!"

"Stop doing that..."

Emma raised her fists.



"Look, please wait!" The ninja cried.

Emma glared at him.

"Look, my orders were to kill that kid, but now my boss has been murdered, so I have no orders!" The ninja said, he took off his hood, to reveal black hair and violet eyes. "My name is Raiko, and I'm Hoshi's Father!"

Emma's eyes widened. "I know..." She whispered, and then she ran to him. "Raiko-San!" She cried.



Emma quickly filled Raiko in on what was happening, and he became very worried. He promised to help her when she reached Shing City. He turned into a large black panther and ran ahead to Shing City, as Emma followed as fast as she dared to on Chief.

Hoshi's Mother had been killed at the hospital on the night Tatsujuu merged his spirit with Emma's.

Raiko had followed his daughter and her friends into this world, and had been enslaved by a powerful warlord.

Emma knew why Hoshi hated her so much.

She could understand why Hoshi loved Kankurou so much.

And she had never felt so connected to anyone as she did right now.

Hoshi was just like her, in so many ways.

Right now, she even _looked_ like Emma.

And _that_ was the problem...


	18. The Comeback

NARUTO

All I Need To Know

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

The Comeback

In Shing City, they were supposed to sing right away, whether 'Hoshi' was with them or not!

Luckily, the remaining contestants knew, more or less, what they were going to be doing and so, when the got back onstage in front of a _live_ audience, they just sang.

Garaa sung _Devil Beside You_, which made a certain somebody glare at him angrily.

Then, his brother sung _Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad_ (those who knew the truth wanted to kill him).

And, they wanted to kill Hoshi pretending to be Emma, when she sung _These Days_ and dedicated it to 'the person who couldn't be here'.

When she finished, she was about to go off-stage, when a voice said: "Thanks, I like that song!"

Everyone gasped, as a girl dressed all in black wearing a mask and with short, singed hair, came onstage holding a microphone.

"What's _she_ doing back here?" Temari muttered angrily, holding Kamari close to her.

Garaa gave her a Look.



Kankurou was staring at the two girls on stage.

"My turn!" The newcomer chirped.

And, she started to sing (the music came on):

_Honey, why you calling me? So late..._

_It's kinda hard to talk right now..._



Kankurou sat bolt upright, staring nervously. That was his and Emma's special song! And, the scary part was, it _sounded_ just like Emma was singing it, too!

Which, of course, she was.

At the end, she whipped off her disguise, and Emma turned to face the audience.

Almost everybody gasped.

That was kinda cool.

Then, the real Emma turned to her imposter.

The judges looked thrilled.

The cameras were kept rolling.

The audience was shocked.

Just as Raiko dropped down from the ceiling!

Everyone else gasped, as their was a bright flash of light, and Raiko was lying unconscious.

One Emma stared at the other one. "Why did you do that?" She asked her twin.

"So we could talk." The other one replied. "Hoshi-San, why are you doing this?"

Everyone gasped, as the other Emma turned back into...Hoshi!

Kankurou went sheet white, as his friends and family looked at him. _How embarrassing!_ Inner-Kankurou screamed.

Hoshi said: "So what? You found me out? Who cares? Kanky loves _me_ the best, we found out when he saw me as you!"



"You can't love him." Emma looked sad. "Hoshi-Chan, I'm your..."

Hoshi gasped. "Are...are you...calling me..._Chan_?" She glared at the ninja lying on the floor. "First you knock that guy out..."

"No...I'm...not..." Raiko climbed slowly to his feet, and stared at her. "And I'm not..." He changed, and so did Emma.

Emma turned back into Raiko. And Raiko turned back into Emma.

Their _real_ forms.

"You can't love Kankurou!" Emma suddenly yelled. "Because I am the only one that truly loves Kankurou!!"

(She'd been watching a lot of School Rumble recently...)

"Hoshi-Chan, I'm your Father!" Raiko cried.

(He'd been watching Star Wars...)

"NOOOOOO!!" Hoshi screamed. (It must be a family thing...) And she turned and ran from the building.

Shocked, her Father followed her hastily, to make sure she was alright. Emma was about to run after him, when Kankurou shouted: "WAIT!"

He was standing at the stage's steps, staring intently at her. "Is it really _you_?" He asked her, firmly.

Emma stared at him for a moment, before she said: "Love."

That word. She'd told him never to forget it.

Garaa disappeared silently in a swirl of sand.

Emma and Kankurou ran to one another then, and never wanted to let go...


	19. The Comeback Part II

NARUTO

All I Need To Know

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

The Comeback Part II

"Wow, Garaa-Kun got Hoshi-Chan to come back." Musha stood there, and looked from Garaa (indifferent) to Hoshi (pissed).

"So, what's your secret?" Mushi wanted to know.

Garaa and Hoshi both pointed to a sign that announced that they all (as idol contestants or not) had to take part in a sports challenge - or else.

"EEHH-WWHHAAATTT!!" Musha and Mushi both screamed.

"A sports challenge huh?" Sasuke crossed his arms. "Sounds like fun, I can't wait to show off my skills for Ino-Chan."

"Ehhh, sports like this are sooooo _annoying_! I can't compete!" Naruto whined. He suddenly jumped. "Uh oh! Killing intent!" He glanced around warily. "Now...who's it _this_ time?" _Not Hinata-Chan, she doesn't care (thank God)...hmm, and Sasuke's too concerned about impressing Ino which is weird since they're already getting married...and so, that leaves..._

He cringed.

"NARUTO-BOZU!" Sakura yelled from across the room. "YOU _WILL_ TAKE PART TOMORROW BECAUSE IF YOU _DON'T_ THEN I'LL SKIN YOU AND SELL YOUR PELT IN KONOHA!!"



Naruto winced. _Oh man, she's hyper already! Boy, do I feel sorry for bushy-brows...hey, where is he anyways?_

"Hmm? Oh, there he is, doing warm-up exercises with Tenten 

already! Ha ha ha! He wants to _win_ this thing!" Naruto laughed.

"Let's do our best together, okay Shika-Chan?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever Temy-Chan..."

"GRR! SHOW SOME ENTHUSIASM!!"

"YES, MA'AM!!" (AAUURRGGHH!!)

The Sound Ninja, Sore, Mari, Kai and Chouji were standing off to one side, and watching their friends.

"Looks like everyone's keeping a wide berth from Hoshi." Ai noticed.

"Well, they still don't feel safe around her, nor do they trust her." Sore clapped her hand over her mouth. "Oops! The 'T' word..."

"It's okay, Sore-San, we'll all try to be extra careful about that tomorrow." Mari smiled at her.

"Hey, so where _is_ Emma-Sama right now?" Zaku wanted to know.

Kai smiled, and took Kin's left hand (wearing an engagement band on it, like Ai's was in Zaku's hand). Kai said: "She's on the hotel roof with Kankurou. They're T-A-L-K-I-N-G..."

"Hmm?" Everyone else in the room stopped what they were doing and looked over at him.

They may have graduated from any Earth high-school. They may have been friends and/or relatives of the two in question.

But, they were also all ninjas (or, they would be someday if they were under the age of five).

And so, for them, that meant SPYING...

Mari and Naruto led the way.



Hoshi and Garaa stayed behind, though.

"Aren't you going up there?" Garaa asked her quietly.

"No." Hoshi said bitterly. "My Dad's keeping two eyes on me 

from now on. Today and tomorrow, I can't interfere. But, after that..."

"Take it easy." Garaa advised her.

"Whatever." She shrugged, and flounced off to go shopping somewhere.

Raiko stepped out from the shadows, and said to Garaa: "Make sure she doesn't misbehave. I have my worries about what she'll do to Emma if she gets angry enough."

"I'm more worried about what Emma could do to _her_, if she feels threatened enough." Garaa replied.

"Looks like we have our work cut out for us then. We'll keep an eye on them, and make sure they don't kill each other."

"We won't let them near the javelin throw, then?"

"Right."

Emma and Kankurou sat on the rooftop, actually unawares of the fifty-six sets of eyes that were boring holes through them from behind a door (three Hyuga Byakugan yes Hinata and Neji were spying too and so could Chou-Chou, now) and under the door, through a window, etc.

Emma drew her knees up to her chest, and said: "We haven't talked like this in ages. You're not really very good at it, are you?"

Kankurou turned scarlet.

"Gomen nasai!" Emma exclaimed. "I'm sorry! But, it's true." She looked down at her feet. "Kankurou-Chan, when we hugged yesterday, I felt like there was something you wanted to tell me, but couldn't."

"Umm, Emi-Chan, actually..." Kankurou stammered.



There WAS something! Something he'd die now if he didn't ask her at this very moment in time! Go for it! Ask her now, Kankurou-Man!

Emma suddenly sprung lightly to her feet. She seemed to be in a very good and chirpy mood since this morning. "Kankurou-Chan, don't worry!" She exclaimed. "Let's not say anything until tomorrow! Let's both kick ass at the sports festival - because I'm gonna beat you!"

"Not true!" Kankurou cried, standing up and facing Emma with a determined grin. "You're a good ninja but, let's face it - I have hidden natural talents at sport which you do not possess!"

"Oh Goddam it, he's too competitive..." Temari groaned softly.

"So's she..." Mari rolled her eyes.

"So then," Emma was saying. "If you win, then I have to make you a Super-Dooper Emma's Special Hamburger! And, if _I_ win...then you have to tell me what it was you wanted to, okay then?" She looked him in the eye. "Hai?"

He nodded slowly. "Hai...E...Emi-Chan, I..."

"Yes?" She blushed a little.

"I...I'm really sorry..."

She nodded. "I know...I know you are...so, let's dance to the Oklahoma Mix tomorrow night then, okay!?" She grinned.

_What!?_ "Uh...sure..."

"Great!" Emma chirped, and spun around to face the door. Her eyes suddenly narrowed. "AOI FIRE!" She screeched, and blasted a hole right through the door.

Their friends and family lay there, smoldering on the ground.

"E...Emi-Chan..." Kankurou sweatdropped.

"Hmm?" She turned to him, confused, and then closed her eyes and smiled. "No problem!"

MEG: Hai means 'Yes', and Gomen Nasai means 'Sorry'. There were probably more, but that's what Japanese Dictionary Online is for…


	20. Shing City Rumble

All I Need To Know

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Shing City Rumble

MEG: I've been watching WWAAYY too much SCHOOL RUMBLE, lately.

And, Richard-Sama – it's all your fault…

I tread on many copyrights here, Gomen Nasai…

"The girls look _great_ today, as _usual_!"

"Ha ha ha! Kiba-Kun, what a ladies man! Well, there's an improvement with the way the onmitsu look today, I'll give you that!"

"Hey, what's _that_ supposed to mean!?"

"Musha-Chan, be _nice_!"

"Sorry, Mushi-Chan! Hee hee!"

"Hee hee!"

Kiba sweatdropped.

Everyone was wearing sports clothes just like back in high school, and it was getting to some of them.

Garaa, for instance, wearing a white polo-shirt, dark blue gym shorts and white and dark blue lace-up trainers, had never felt so annoyed in all of his life. He caught the eye of Mari, dressed similarly but in pink shorts and yellow sneakers instead of blue (of course) and the two of them rolled their eyes.

Most of the others were dressed similarly, with the guys in blue and the chicks in red, and almost everyone was wearing white polo-shirts. Sakura, of course, had on a 

red pleated skirt and so did Temari, Tenten's shorts were maroon, and Kin's sneakers were silver. Naruto's shoes were bright, fluoro orange, Sasuke's shirt was actually a very pale blue colour, and Kankurou and Kiba hadn't left out there 'war' paint. Akamaru was wearing a dark blue headband.

"Okay, everybody, listen up!" The _real_ Dean Martin called. "The teams are as follows!"



The growing crowd around the hotel track and field roared with applause, as the kunoichi and onmitsu eagerly awaited their teams to be announced.

"Go, go, go!" Yumi and Chou-Chou cheered from the sidelines.

"Gimme a bweak..." Kamari, Itachi and Kisume groaned, crossing their arms and scowling, with an unimpressed aura all around them as the girls cheered away in little cheer-leading outfits.

"But wait...there's an un-equal number of kunoichi and onmitsu..." Mari muttered. "So..."

"HEY! HOW ABOUT SAI AND ME!?"

"You're so embarrassing Matsuri-San..."

Emma and Mari both yelped. "Eh!? Sai! Matsuri!"

"Uh oh..." Emma glanced at Garaa, as Matsuri ran to him and hugged him.

Hoshi felt a tiny prickle go down the back of her neck, but she shrugged it off.

Daddy was watching her today...

She'd try to make a good impression, this time...

"Ohayoo." Sai calmly greeted the rest of them. "Dean Martin asked us if we'd participate, so, here we are..."

"Hai!" Sakura exclaimed. "Come on, let's go you guys!"

The _very_ first team that was announced consisted of: 

Garaa, Neji, Hinata and...Matsuri. How unfortunate. Inner-Garaa nearly had a cow.

The next team was Kankurou and Kai (now, that really _was_ unfortunate) and Sore and...Hoshi...

"Don't worry, I'll watch her for you." Sore whispered to Emma.

"Thanks, Sore-San..." Emma was a little bit relieved.

"Garaa-Dono, we're on the same team!" That was Matsuri.



"Get away from me!" That was 'her' Kazekage.

_Damn it! Emma-Sama and I aren't on the same team! And, it looks like I'll have to work with Hoshi again...aurgh...hey, Emma-Sama's smiling and waving at me! Yikes, I'd better smile and wave back at her!_

"What are those two _doing_?" Sakura was watching Emma and Kankurou with Ino. Ino shrugged.

The next team up was Kiba, Zaku, Mushi and Kin. Hmm, how interesting. Two Sound Ninja, working side-by-side again...

Then, there was Naruto, Sasuke, Temari and Ino.

"Yikes! It's gonna be WWIII with _those two_ on the same team!" Someone yelled, pointing at Naruto and Sasuke.

"Yeah," Sakura yelled across to them. "_If_ Sasuke can just stop making goo-goo eyes at my bestie like that!"

"Are you still _jealous_, Sakura-San?"

"EMMA-SAN, I AM _NOT_ JEALOUS!!"

The next team was Shino, Sai, Ai and Musha, and next up came Chouji, Dosu (Chouji remembered how Dosu called him _fatso_ one time...), Sakura and Mari (Mari squealed happily when she found out she was on the same team as 'her' Chouji!).

And, so, that left Lee, Shikamaru, Tenten and Emma.

"GO AUNTY-EM! GO AUNTY-EM!" Yumi cheered.



Next, they all elected team leaders and mascots.

"Hey, let's use Naruto!" Sasuke exclaimed.

"As the..._leader_!?" Naruto was awed, and envisioning himself as the leader, leading his team to victory!

Until Sasuke snapped: "No, Naruto-Bozu, I meant as the _mascot_!"

Naruto's mouth fell open.



"Close your mouth, Naruto-Kun!" Temari snapped at him, standing with her arms crossed next to Ino. "Do we even _need_ to have a mascot? Let's just make Sasuke our team leader."

"Agreed!" Ino cheered.

Naruto was outnumbered on _that_ one...

"Of course, Akamaru's our team mascot." Kiba told his group. "And, of course, the team leader is..."

"Me." Zaku snapped. "Dean Martin, write that one down!"

"Hey, stop writing that!" Kiba yelled at him.

"Sorry!" Dean Martin responded. "I already wrote it in _ink_!"

Ai was elected the team leader for her group, and one of Shino's pet bugs became their mascot. Sakura was surprised to find herself elected as _her_ team's leader, as Pinku became their team's mascot, too.

"Garaa-Dono should be our team leader!" Matsuri cried. "And I got to bring Takamaru with us, too! So, he can be our team mascot!"

"Jeez, Matsuri-San, you want to let our _leader_ make any decisions?" Neji snapped.

"Be nice, Neji-Kun!" Hinata said sternly.

"GOOOO, HINATA-SAN!!" The crowd cheered.

"But...but, what do _I_ know about being a team leader?" Emma stammered nervously. "Let's just use Jaws as our 

mascot, sure, but..."

"Come on, Emma-Chan, you can do it!" Tenten grinned at her. "I have _complete_ and _absolute_ faith in you!"

"Tenten-Chan..." _She's always been so nice to me, even when she ran the risk of losing Neji-Sama to me..._ "Thank you! Okay, I'll do it!"

"Yeah!" Shikamaru and Lee cheered.

"Emi-Chan!"

"Hmm?" Emma turned around. It was Kankurou!

He said: "Emi-Chan, it looks like we're both team-leaders!"



"Yeah, I guess so..." She said, nervously. She toyed anxiously with the Protection Tag around her belt loop and thought: _Today's NOT a good day for me! Tatsujuu hasn't woken up and made me feel confident enough yet!_

The teams were:

"In the navy blue bandannas, we have Team Sandy-Leaf! Team leader Garaa! He's the Kazekage of the Hidden Sand Village, just don't sell his tiny frame too short! Team mascot, Takamaru! Team members Matsuri, and Neji and Hinata Hyuaga! They'll prove to have a strong form on the old saying 'small but quick'!"

"Ocius." The team bowed.

"And we have Team Kugutsu, with the purple bandannas! Team leader Kankurou! He claims to have some kind of legendary sporting skills, but only time will tell! Team members Kai, Hoshi and Sore! The lovely Sore especially seems to be very agile and fast on her feet!" (Sore didn't want many people knowing her last name, now...)

"Regius." Sore and her team intoned.

"Team Song-Dog, in the brown bandannas! Team 

leader Kiba Inuzaku! And, like their team mascot Akamaru, he seems to be very fast and very strong, too, but we shall see! Team members Zaku, Mushi and Kin! We can only guess what kind of a challenge they'll throw at the feet of our other teams here today!"

"Canis!" Kiba and his team _barked_ (Kiba made them).

"Team Makenai in the neon-orange bandannas over there! Team leader Sasuke Uchiha! He seems very cool and reserved, until he sees the beautiful blonde Ino! Team members Naruto Uzumaki, Ino Yamanaka and Temari! They seem to have a lot of enthusiasm here today!"

"Laetor Letor!" All of Team Makenai cheered.



"Team Leaf-Blade with the dark green bandannas! Team leader Ai Kinuta! She's big-chested, she's robust, and she certainly will today dominate the field with that athletic body of hers! Team mascot The Hercules-Beatle! Team members Shino Aburame, Sai and Musha! Hopefully Ai's strengths will make up for their team weaknesses!"

Ai wanted to kill him...

"Macellarius?" The team all looked over at Dean Martin, whom winced and then he sweatdropped.

Sakura, Ino and Mari were now laughing too hard to even stand up...

"And, with the yellow bandannas because the onmitsu refused to wear pink ones, we have Team Pink-Heads! Team leader Sakura! She's a fiery and tenacious leaf ninja whom _hates_ to be told she can't do anything! Team mascot Pinku! Team members Chouji Akamichi, Dosu Kinuta and Mari! Mari and Dosu look strong, but let's watch out for the fatso...please don't kill me!"

"Jeez, he's cutting it close..." Mushi whispered to Musha.



"Comburo!" Chouji and his team declared.

"Help!" Dean Martin cried, as the flames grew higher.

He was okay then, because Emma rescued him.

"And, finally, Team Crimson Dragon in the red bandannas! Team leader Emma! She's small and petite, but a sure crowd favourite to go all the way to the top today! Team mascot Jaws! Team members Tenten, Shikamaru Nara and Rock Lee! I wouldn't put anything past these three here, especially with a team leader such as Emma!"

"Lepor Lepos?" Emma and Tenten glanced over at Dean Martin.

"Letalis..." Shikamaru and Lee rolled their eyes.

"Inquam." The girls replied.

"Inquis?" Dean Martin called.

"INQUIT!!" The whole crowd roared.



Then, Emma and Kankurou suddenly yelled together: "IT'S TIME FOR THE RUNNING EVEEEEEENTS!!"

They exchanged a glance.

_Kankurou-Chan, I'm going to win this here!_

_Emi-Chan...I know how badly you want to win this...and...so do I..._

"Fifty metres, one hundred metres, a three-legged race, a relay race (oh no...) and a backwards race, what the hell is that?" Sakura read off of a piece of paper.

"Who cares, let's decide who's going in what event!" Mari grinned.

The first race was the fifty metres. Running in that one was Matsuri, Sore, Kiba, Sasuke, Lee, Sai and Mari.

"Runners, take your marks," Larry Findmans called. "Get set..."



BANG!

Oh my God. There was an actual starting-pistol...

SHOOMP!

"Whoa, look at _that_!" Faye Smiles commentated. "Already, this is getting _intense_, with the two runners Sore and Rock Lee drawn neck-and-neck! But, oh, what's _this_!? Mari has suddenly taken the lead, and she's crossed the finishing line! Mari won for The Pink-Heads!"

"Yay, I won! I won!" Mari cheered.

"Aaw...not fair!" Lee and Sore hung their heads in shame.

The one hundred metres was next.

Neji, Kai, Zaku, Naruto, Shikamaru, Shino and Dosu decided to run in that.

"Whoa, it looks like an all-onmitsu's race!" Faye cried. "Who will win!?"

"I WILL!!" All of the runners shouted.

Actually, it was _Naruto_ that won, believe it or not.

NARUTO: BELIEVE IT!!



"The three-legged race is next!" Larry announced.

The runners were quickly paired up, surprisingly, and they appeared to be some pretty good match-ups, too.

Garaa had quietly _refused_ to run with Matsuri, and so the two Hyuga cousins agreed to race. Kankurou and Hoshi hadn't run yet, so they got paired up (Emma and Sore exchanged a meaningful glance). Then, Mushi was to run with Kin, Ino and Temari, Tenten would run with Shikamaru (Emma had conveniently disappeared in the direction of the Snack Bar), Ai and Shino would be running together, and Sakura and Mari paired up.

"Take your marks...get set..."

BANG!



"GO! GO! GO!" Everyone cheered for their favourite runners.

Emma came back with fairy floss, just as Kankurou and Hoshi crossed the finishing line first.

_Hmmm..._ Thought Tenten.

Emma called: "Hey, you two!?"

Kankurou winced.

But, Emma just said: "I'm still gonna beat ya!" And walked off with her team members.

Kankurou and Hoshi looked at one another, and shrugged.

"Relay race in five minutes! All team members MUST participate!" Dean announced.

"Aawww!!" A lot of team members groaned.

But, they had no choice.

In the first line up, the runners took their marks.

BANG!

Neji, Kai, Kin, Sasuke, Tenten, Sai and Sakura all began running (God, this would be funny to see!). They quickly passed off the batons to the next runners, which were: Hinata, Sore, Mushi, Naruto, Shikamaru, Ai and Dosu.



But, Naruto dropped his baton, and fell behind.

"AAUURRGGHH!!" Ino screamed.

The next runners were: Matsuri, Hoshi, Zaku, Ino (well behind she was, now), Lee, Shino and Chouji.

This leg of the race actually went alright, except for the part where Chouji _almost_ became a human-boulder, but he snapped out of it just in time to hand the baton to Mari, whom sprinted off lightly. Shino gave the baton to Musha, whom was fast for her a little chick, Ino practically _threw_ hers to Temari (she'd actually caught up by now), Matsuri was disappointed when she barely 

got to touch Garaa's hand on their pass-off and Zaku swiftly passed over the baton to Kiba. Hoshi was actually a slight bit _faster_ then Lee was, and so she got her baton to Kankurou before Lee got his to Emma.

"Take care of it, now..." Hoshi whispered to Kankurou, as he took off running (I can't imagine this...)

But, Emma had a skill.

Before Lee reached her, _she_ started running, so that she'd already built up her top speed by the time the pass-off took place! (She thought that all runners knew this secret?)

Emma was _extremely_ agile, no one ever knew it!

Naturally, she and Kankurou came in a draw for this race! (Because everyone else tripped on some kind of blue wires...)

"What the hell is a backwards race?" Sakura whined. So, they threw her into it, along with Musha, Tenten, Ino, Kin, Kai and Matsuri.

_Not one _kunoichi came even _close_ to winning _this_ race, because they were all laughing too hard. So, Kai got to win.



"Yay! Fun events!" Musha was cheering next.

"Let's see," Ai said. "A tug-of-war, javelin throw, archery, mondo ball challenge and a _horse-race_!!"

"Huh??" Everyone else was just as confused as she was.

"Hey, Sai-San?" Musha grinned over at Sai. "It's fun working with you!"



"Yeah, you guys are really cool, it's like we've known you all along." Neji added, in a rare show of kindness.

"Thanks." Sai and Matsuri said in unison.

The tug-of-war took place like this: kunoichi against onmitsu, with Chouji and Ai as the anchors.

The two teams tugged and tugged, and pulled and pulled, neither one willing to give in, until, finally, the rope snapped, and both sides fell over.

Emma and Hoshi weren't allowed to take part in the javelin throw, and so they hung out at opposite ends of the hot-dog stand, and watched Hinata, Kai, Kiba, Naruto, Shikamaru, Musha and Sakura throw a bunch of pointy-looking sticks around the place (Shikamaru won).

Next was archery, which everyone loved. And, so, they held two events, one for rival onmitsu and another one straight after it for rival kunoichi. Garaa beat Kankurou, Zaku, Sasuke, Lee, Sai and Dosu (yay! Garaa with a bow and arrow!). Then came: Mari, Ai, Ino, Kin, Hoshi, Matsuri and Emma. Everyone was good, but Emma and Mari had had extra practises from when they lived on earth. Everyone shrugged, and called that round a draw.

"What's mondo ball?" Naruto was asking when they got back.

"_That_..." Ino pointed in fear, as the judges and helpers were rolling these HUGE balls towards them, which each team was supposed to maneuverer from one end of the field to the other.



"That's as big as Chouji is!" Mari was the only one allowed to say it.

Well, lemme tell ya's, moving those massive blobs around onfield was pretty difficult. You sort of _melded_ into it if you pressed too hard. At one stage, Musha 

jumped on top of her team's, and rolled all the way over and onto the other side.

They think that Team Makenai might've won that one...

Next, came the horse-race.

One onmitsu from each team was to carry a kunoichi on his shoulders, and she'd try to steal the other girls' headbands, but she couldn't touch the ground. Since the idea seemed like a lot of fun, everyone decided to participate.

"This is gonna be dangerous..." Faye whispered to Dean.

"I know..." He whispered back, and they and Larry put on battle helmets.

The pairs faced each other:

"Don't drop me, okay?" Hinata whispered to Garaa.

"Don't worry..."

"I wanted to be with Garaa-Dono..."

"Cousins aren't allowed to pair up like this, it's the rules." Neji replied firmly.

_How did this happen?_ Kankurou had Hoshi on his shoulders.

_Kai's toast..._ Sore decided that she'd better keep an eye on her other team-mates, as Kai shifted his weight carefully.

Kiba thought that Mushi was too tall, but didn't say so.

"I didn't forget what you said in The Forest Of Death, so you'd better make up for it!" Kin hissed to Zaku. Zaku rolled his eyes.

_Man, she's HEAVY! Is she pregnant again?_ Naruto complained to himself about having Temari on his shoulders. He glared over at Ino and Sasuke. _Focus..._ 

He begged of them.

"Let's do our best together!" Emma said to Lee.

"You bet!" He replied.

"How troublesome..." Shikamaru muttered.

"Shut up, baka!" Tenten cried.

Shino easily balanced Musha on his shoulders, and scanned the crowd for Mushi. He spotted her, and she waved to him.

_Her chest is pressing onto my head,yikes..._ Sai thought about having Ai up there.

_What's he thinking about my chest?_ She wondered sourly.

"Go! Go! Go!" Mari rode around on top of Chouji's shoulders. She was well protected up there.

"Easy there, cowgirl..." Dosu muttered angrily to Sakura, whom was wearing a cowboy bat and spurs.

"Quiet, you!" She snapped.

"KIBASEN!!" Kiba and Mushi both yelled suddenly, and everyone remembered what was about to happen...

"Everyone, prepare for battle!" Dean Martin yelled. "Get set..."

Itachi suddenly stepped forward, and blew into a horn that was actually fashioned from an oxen's horn...

With a savage cry, the two teams ran at one another...

It was like a scene from _Braveheart_. The two teams made contact, and the pushing, shoving and swiping of bandannas began.

"AHA!" Sakura managed to swipe Mushi's headband, before having her own stolen by Ino.

Emma and Lee were unstoppable, and so were Mari and Chouji, until Sasuke suddenly threw Ino up into the 

air, kicked Chouji and brought him down, and then caught Ino on his shoulders again.



But...

"WAHAA!! YOU COULD'VE _KILLED_ ME!! WAAAA!!" Ino ran off, crying. Sasuke sweatdropped, and ran after her.

"AURGH!!" Kin fell off, and possibly busted up her ankle.

"I did my back in this time for sure!" Naruto yelled.

"What about _me_!?" Temari cried.

Soon, only Kankurou, Lee and Garaa were left.

Matsuri, Emma and Hoshi traded a wary glance...hang on! Matsuri!?

How had she and Hinata switched!!

SHOOMP!

Emma suddenly flew off of Lee's shoulders, and sailed through the air towards Matsuri and Garaa. She caught Matsuri around the neck with her feet, and flipped her off of the young Kazekage's back!

CRASH! Matsuri hit the ground with a dull thud, and Sai ran to her! Yes, Sai!

And, yes, Matsuri and Hinata had traded appearences!

_Thanks, Emma-Chan!_ Garaa thought, glad to finally get to stop running.

_Just what I wanted, now Garaa's happy, and so are Sai and Matsuri!_ Emma suddenly gasped, as Hoshi reached out and grabbed Lee's shirt, so that he couldn't move fast enough.

Now _Emma_ crashed painfully to the ground, but felt nothing more then a sharp pain in her ankle.

"KANKUROU AND HOSHI WIIIIIN!" Dean announced. "But, is young Emma going to be okay?"

"I'm fine...I'm okay!" Emma lied, climbing to her feet.

Kankurou was watching her, as Hoshi climbed down 

from his shoulders.

The Look Emma gave him stopped him from running to her...



"Yeah, Emma's twisted her ankle." Kai said to Mari, as they sat in the bleachers.

"Hmm?" Mari squinted down there. "Well...isn't that her down there, about to go in the Tri-Athalon and, if she wins, then her team wins?"

Together, they yelled: "EMMA-CHAN!!"

But, Emma and the others were off.

_I can DO this!_ Emma swam hard.

_I can DO this!_ Emma peddled hard.

_Hey, Emi-Chan looks good on a bike..._ Kankurou realised. _But, her foot is...swelling up rapidly..._

_I CAN DO THIS!!_ Emma ran with all of her might, more to get off her ankle then anything! She crossed the finishing line alright, but then she collapsed - straight into Kankurou's arms.


	21. Meteor Shower And Wishes You Can Share

All I Need To Know

CHAPTER TWENTY

Meteor Shower And Wishes You Can Share

"Is everyone okay?" Temari asked everyone.

"Sure." Said a few people.

"Yeah!" Said the kids (well, of course _they_ were all fine!)

"No..." Said everyone else.

Kin and Emma both had hurt ankles (although Emma's was a bit more serious, but Kin had done in her _entire_ leg - toes, ankle, knee, thigh, even her pelvis bone hadn't been lucky enough to escape injury!). Naruto had bruised his...ahem...his _tailbone_, and had to sit on a special cushion that resembled a deflated pool-tube. Sasuke and Kiba teased him endlessly about this for the rest of his life. Mari had a sore wrist. Two of Shikamaru's toes were broken. Ino had given Sasuke a blood nose (but they'd kissed and made up). Zaku had broken both of his arms (_again_!). Shino and Kai both had dislocated elbows. Everyone had a few cuts, scrapes and bruises here and there. They could've healed them all completely, but they didn't, because the pain wasn't at all _that_ bad (except for Naruto's...ahem...his _pride_...).

Temari smiled. "Well, I know what'll cheer you all up. There's supposed to be a _meteor shower_ tonight, during the party! At meteor showers you can actually _say_ your wish _aloud_!"

"Ooh!" The kunoichi all said (even Hoshi).

Garaa thought that a meteor shower suited her perfectly.



That night, everybody got dressed in what the hotel said they had to wear - HIGH SCHOOL FUKU!! (Uniforms...)

"Oh. My. Freaking. Lord." Sakura said, holding hers up.

"How youthful!" Rock Lee cheered.

"How troublesome." That was Shikamaru, of course.

"How childish." Hoshi sniffed.

"How _cute_!" Mari squealed. She tried hers on. "Uh...Onee-San?" That was what everybody had suddenly started to call Temari. She didn't really care. "Nee-San?" She tried again.

Temari poked her head into Mari and Chouji's room.

Her 'uniform' was about two top sizes too small!

Mari and Temari giggled, and then they quickly switched uniforms.

"Hope they don't send us to school." Kin told Kai, as she brushed her hair.

"Well, the only maths problem that _I_ needed to learn," Kai grinned over at her. "Was you and I. Kai plus Kin equals LOVE!"

Kin smiled gently at him. "No," She said, winking. "_Kin_ plus _Kai_ equals LOVE!"

They were set. They assembled that evening out the back of the hotel.

"AAAAWWWW KKKKAAAAWWWWAAAAIIII!!" Mari screamed, dancing around them.

"No more caffeine for you, then..." Emma sweatdropped. (She, Kin and Shikamaru were all on crutches, because Temari had insisted, and they weren't too happy about it but their 'big sister' had insisted)...

Here's what everyone was wearing:

All of them had on the traditional sailor-styled Japanese school-uniform, but most of them were in different styles, 

according to what team they'd all been on as younger ninjas.



The boys were wearing sailor-tops with short sleeves, a coloured-collar and either a tie or a bandanna or neither. They wore knee-length shorts, ankle socks and shiny black school-shoes.

The girls wore sailor-blouses with short sleeves, a coloured-collar and a tie, a bandanna, a bow or none of those three. They wore either knee-length or short pleated sailor-skirts, ankle socks or knee-length socks (for some short skirt wearers) and shiny black school-shoes. Some even wore straw or floppy hats.

Naruto, Sasuke, Sai and Itachi were wearing white tops with navy blue collars, red ties (Hinata had to tie Naruto's for him), navy blue shorts, white socks with a red stripe and slip-on shoes.

Sakura was dressed similarly, except she had a red bow, her skirt was short, and she had a familiar red ribbon in her hair...

As well as a pink turtle-dove nestled and almost invisible, and wearing a little red ribbon with a bow on it...

Kiba and Shino wore white tops with cobalt clue collars and red bandannas, cobalt blue shorts, white socks and single-strapped shoes. Hinata's skirt came down to her knees, and had a navy blue band around them, and her shoes had two straps on them.

Oh, yeah, Shino kept on his sunglasses. :)

There was even a red bandanna for Akamaru!

Hinata and Naruto's daughter, Chou-Chou, was even dressed up! She was wearing a white top with a cobalt blue collar and a red bow, a short cobalt blue skirt, white socks and two-strapped shoes. She and her Mother 

were both wearing straw hats. Hinata's had a white rose on it, and Chou-Chou's had a pink carnation.

Shikamaru and Chouji wore white tops with dark grey collars, dark grey shorts, light grey socks and slip-on shoes.



Ino was dressed similarly, her skirt was short, she wasn't wearing any socks (Ino liked to stand out) and she had a light grey jacket slung over one arm, in case she got cold (Ino liked to be prepared).

Garaa and Kankurou had on black tops with red ties and white collars, black shorts, grey socks and slip-on shoes.

Temari looked similar, but she had a red bandanna tied around her neck, her skirt was short, like Ino she wasn't wearing any socks, her shoes had heels and she looked perfectly happy (unlike her two brothers).

Matsuri was also there, and looked similar to Temari, except she had a red bow, white ankle socks, slip-on shoes and a white straw hat.

Takamaru was wearing a red tie!

Kamari was wearing a white top with a red tie (like Garaa and Kankurou had on), black shorts, light grey socks and slip-on shoes, as well as a floppy black and grey sailor-like hat that everyone suspected would end up on the bonfire that night.

Moving on...

Neji and Lee wore white tops with red bandannas and dark green collars, dark green shorts, light grey socks and single-strapped shoes. And Tenten, looking very much like a panda-Kagome, had the red bow, short skirt, knee-length socks and there was a blue flower in her hair.

Kisame was wearing a grey top with a red bandanna 

and a dark green collar, dark green shorts, white socks and single-strapped shoes, and looking extremely uncomfortable and annoyed.



Zaku and Dosu (Dosu with his bandages still on so that he resembled something that might've stepped out of _Graveyard School_) had on white tops with navy blue ties, navy blue shorts, white socks with a navy blue stripe and slip-on shoes (both looked even more cheesed off then Kisame did). Kin was dressed up too, including a knee length skirt and a navy blue hat like Kamari's, except that hers had a silver ribbon around it.

Sore and Ai (Emma was jealous that Ai's uniform made her chest look _even bigger_) were wearing similar uniforms to Kin's, except their's had bandannas instead of ties, and both were wearing their hair up and tied with blue ribbons for a change.

It was a nice change...

Yumi was wearing a white top with a navy blue bow, a white knee-length skirt, light blue socks and slip-on shoes. A white bow sat in her hair.

Kai was wearing a navy blue top with a black collar and a black bandanna, navy blue shorts, light blue socks and slip-on shoes. Similarly dressed were Emma and Mari, except with black bows, short skirts and knee socks, plus, both had on white straw hats, and Mari's had pink carnations and yellow little-flowers on there, and Emma's just had a long, trailing reddish-pink ribbon on it. Jaws was wearing a black bandanna, and singing _Age Og Aquarius_, and Jaws only sings when he's feeling happy...

And, Hoshi, Musha and Mushi had been invited too. They accepted politely, but each was feeling somewhat warm and fuzzy inside at being allowed to attend.

_I get to see Kiba-Kun!_ Musha realised.

_I wonder if Shino-San will be there..._ Mushi wondered.

_I'm maybe accepted..._ Hoshi thought. _...MAYBE..._



They were wearing grey tops with dark grey collars and red bows, short dark grey skirts, grey socks with red stripes and single-strapped shoes. Mushi was wearing lots of orange and red ribbons in her..._sproingy_ hair..., Musha's heeled shoes and hair piled up on her head with a few dark green ribbons made her look a bit taller (and, also, it made her look like a Christmas Tree Decoration), and Hoshi had opted for a white straw-hat with a long, trailing blueish-green ribbon on it.

That seemed safe enough...

"Oh no!" Hoshi cried softly when they all assembled. "Emma's wearing one too!" _Great...now everyone will think that I copied her..._

Mari suddenly came up to Hoshi.

_Oh no, here's Mari-Chan...she's going to accuse me of mimicking her best friend..._ Hoshi thought, desperately.

"Hoshi-San?"

"Y...yes, Mari-Ch...Mari-San?" Hoshi tried to sound nonchalant.

"That hat..." Mari began, and Hoshi anxiously began to scan around her for escape routes. "That hat..." Mari smiled at her. "Looks _soooo_ cool, just like Emma's and mine! Come on, let's go say hi to everyone!" She grabbed Hoshi's hand and dragged her over to where stood Garaa, Matsuri, Temari, Shikamaru, Kamari, Tenten, Neji and...Emma and Kankurou. Hoshi sighed in resignation.

"Hey, _mina_!" Mari called out before she reached them. "Look, Hoshi-San's here!" They all turned around to face her.



She tried to read the looks on their faces:

Garaa: I'm keeping my eyes on you... (Probably does that thing that the Dad does in _Meet The Parents_...)

Matsuri: What's going on?

Temari: Stay away from my son! And my brother!

Shikamaru: She's too troublesome to deal with right now...

Kamari: Mean lady back!!

Tenten: What's _she_ doing here?

Neji: One wrong move, and she's _dead_... (Neji was slightly scary...)

Emma: Get. Her. Away. From. Me. And. My. Boy. Friend.

Kankurou: Unreadable expression...



Hoshi smiled nervously. "K...konban w...wa..._mina_..." She stammered. _Goddam it! I'm too freaking nervous to string a sentence together! Just because Daddy's watching me, and so are Garaa, Neji and Sore! This is all Emma's fault! ...isn't it?? I mean...it can't be _my_ fault...can it??_

Hoshi didn't know.

She just waited for everyone else's reactions to her shaky greeting.

Garaa said: "Konban wa, Hoshi-San."

Matsuri chirped: "Hiya Hoshi-San! Garaa-Dono looks _great_ this evening!"

Hoshi didn't know what to say to that...

Temari and Shikamaru said: "_Ban_. _Ogenkidesuka_?"

"I am..." Hoshi said shyly. "Tired?"

Everyone laughed. They were _all_ felling a little tired.

Then, Kamari looked up at Hoshi, and said: "_Ban_."

"_Ban_." Hoshi replied carefully. She had a feeling that he _still_ hadn't forgotten how she'd tried to kill him (and, hearing her in Emma's form say it must've been scary!)...

"Tenten-San!" Naruto called over to her. "Nani ji desuka!?"

Tenten rolled her eyes and checked her watch. "He sure is 

excited about this meteor shower that we're having." She told the others. And then, to Naruto, she replied: "Juukyuu ji juppun fun desu!"

"_What_!!"

"It's ten minutes past seven, Naruto-Bozu!" Sakura yelled from somewhere else.

Tenten looked at Hoshi. "Don't mind those guys." She told her. "We are the _sane_ ones."

Hoshi nodded.

"Well, we'd better get moving then," Neji said. "They probably already lit this year's bonfire. Let's go!"



Everyone else nodded, and they walked off towards the tall flames behind the building.

"Hang on," Temari handed Kamari to Shikamaru. "I just remembered that I have to go and help out with the refreshments for a little while. _Jyamata_!" She called to them as she ran off.

_Did she mean me too?_ Hoshi wondered.

"Oh look," Tenten said, pointing. "There's a face-painter! I always wanted to have my face painted!" She grabbed Neji's hand. "Let's go! _Mata atode_!" (Dunno if this is how you say this).

"Hey, look, a fortune-teller!" Mari suddenly cried. "Let's all have our fortunes told!" She raised her arm. "Chouji-Chan!!" She bellowed, and he appeared a few seconds later, with Cheezles.

Mari, Chouji, Matsuri, Emma, Kankurou, Garaa and a trailing Hoshi walked over to _Madame Amita_.

She was a really really really old woman, and she was also blind, but somehow she managed to say: "Ah, come closer, all seven of you...I feel strong auras from each of you..."

They crept forward.

_How does she know?_ Mari wondered.



"Because I am psychic." Madame Amita told her, and Mari jumped. Matsuri giggled.

"Ah," Madame Amita said, smiling. "Young lady, with the plain white straw hat, please do come and sit down."

"K!" Matsuri chirped, let go of Garaa's arm, and sat down in the chair across from Madame Amita. "My name's Matsuri!"

Madame Amita held up four cards with blue backs that faced Matsuri. "Please," She told her. "Choose a card, Matsuri-San."

Matsuri did so.

She turned it over and read it, frowning.

"What's it say?" Mari asked her.



"It says..." Matsuri said slowly. "Four things...Miles Militis...Meus...Deus...and...Trepide?" She looked up at Madame Amita. "Huh?"

Madame Amita said: "You seek for a god who will love you, yet you look for your soldier in the wrong place. You search with trepidation, yet he is not far away."

Matsuri looked totally confused. She stood up, and walked back to Garaa.

"Ah, young Kazekage, who shares his tattoo with the blonde kunoichi," Madame Amita said. "Sit down."

"I am Garaa, of the sand." He said, quietly taking his seat.

Madame Amita asked him to select a card, and he did.

He read it aloud: "Consulto...Frater...Fors Fortis...Amicitia..."

"You," Madame Amita told him. "Should speak with a brother to gain chance for a new friendship with someone."

Garaa glanced at Kankurou.

"He should sit down next." Madame Amita added.

Kankurou did so.

His card said: "Memini Meminisse...Quinquennis...Temptatio...Fides..."

"Remember what happened five years ago," Madame Amita 

said quietly. "The temptation that was diverted...and the trust you must now have..."

Yikes! There was that word again!

Mari's said just said: "You will soon be richly blessed."

Chouji's said: "Filia." (She wouldn't tell him what that meant).

Then, it was Emma's turn.

She sits down, and Madame Amita goes: "My stars! Such a powerful sense of aura and Chakra flows through you! Please, take a card!"

Emma quietly did so. She read it out: "Forte...Frigus...Fuga...Fidens..."



"By chance...in the cold of winter...when one takes flight...with bravery a happy ending may be reached..." Madame Amita whispered. She turned around. "Certus." She said firmly. "Moneo...Multum Morsus..._sayonara_!"

They knew _that_ part. It was time for them to leave. Emma stood up, and together they all walked away from Madame Amita.

Madame Amita stared into the blackness around her. "My Stultus Familia...called also my _Otouto's_ Filia..." Tears leaked from her violet-blue eyes. "My Hoshi..." She whispered.

_She was familiar...I wonder why?_ Hoshi thought to herself, as she brought some popcorn, Garaa had pancakes (he loves them) and Emma ate a giant chocolate Magikarp from The Big P. Pokêmon Ranch.

"Hey, Hoshi-San!"

Hoshi jumped, when Naruto came up right behind her with his daughter.

"Ready, Chou-Chou-Chan?" He whispered to her.

"Weady!"



Together, Father and daughter both asked Hoshi: "Fun nan ji desuka!?"

Hoshi did a double-take. "Uh...I'm not wearing a watch..." She began but, just then, Sakura showed up.

"Naruto-Bozu, stop asking people that!" She cried. "It's nearly nine oh' clock, you'll know when it is because stuff will start falling from the darn sky!" (She'd wanted to say freaking, but Chou-Chou was listening to them argue).

"This meteor shower sure has got everyone worked up." Sakura smiled at Hoshi, as Naruto and Chou-Chou ran over to Kai (they were going to ask him what time it was _now_...). "What are you going to wish for, Hoshi-San?"



Hoshi blushed. "Umm...well, I hadn't really decided..."

"Well, you'd better decide soon, because all of us have to say them out-loud!" Sakura winked, and then ran off, leaving Hoshi feeling scared.

_Why can't I just say it?_ She wondered. _I wish...I had...a boyfriend...any boyfriend!_

At exactly nine oh' clock (daylight savings time) the sky seemed to light up, as blue streaks of light flashed across the sky.

"OOHH..." Everyone said in one voice.

"Okay, everybody," Temari said, softly, as they stood on a small hill at the back of the hotel to watch the spectacle. "Make a wish." She smiled. "I'm pregnant again, so I wish for my next baby to be as healthy and as wonderful as my first one was." She smiled at Kamari, asleep in his Father's arms.

Shikamaru looked surprised, but pleased. "Then," He said, putting his arm around Temari's shoulders. "I wish for _both_ of our children to grow up as happy and as beautiful as their Mother is."



"Aaww..." Everyone said.

"I wish," Musha spoke up suddenly. "That I can make people respect me, even though I'm short!"

"_I_ respect you." Kiba said, putting an arm around her. "But, if it makes you feel better, then I wish for you to grow a couple more inches, at least."

"Thank you." She said to him, her eyes shining.

"I wish," Tenten smiled. "That if I have any children, then they'll all be great ninja like their Father."

"And, if we have any girls," Neji said softly. "Then I wish that they're great kunoichi like you are." He kissed Tenten softly.



"Aaww..." Everyone teased them about it.

"I wish that," Chouji said next. "I can eat enough sushi-squares for everyone here."

Mari giggled. "And I wish I could join you!" She said.

"Well, _I_ wish nothing but happiness for my to-be wife." Kai smiled at Kin.

She smiled back. "I wish the same for you." She said quietly (Kin was learning to express her feelings).

"I wish," Sore said then. "That my friends and family are all happy and have good fortune."

"Sore-San, that's so very sweet of you." Mari told her.

Ai grinned at Sore, and said: "Typical you, Imouto. But...I also wish for our friends and clan to have good wealth, and romance too!"

"True to her name." Zaku rolled his eyes. "But, hey, I wish everyone achieves their dreams."

"I'M GONNA BE THE NEXT HOKAGE!" Naruto yelled to the falling stars.

Everyone else sweatdropped.

"I," Dosu went on. "Wish that I can find a way to thank Emma-Sama for what she's done for us."



"Baka," Emma blushed. "You don't have to, I don't care. Wish for something else..."

"Okay...then...I wish we can safely return the snow-child Yumi to her parents." Dosu replied.

"Oh, me too!" Everyone else said.

Ino smiled, and snuggled even closer against Sasuke's arm. She said: "I just found out that I might be pregnant, so I wish for a healthy child, girl or boy."

"Omedetoo!" Mari and Sakura exclaimed, and reached over to hug her.



Sasuke smiled too. "I may have been a bit of a baka at times," He said. "So, I wish that I can be a wonderful husband and a wonderful Father."

"Oh, you _will_ be!" Ino told him happily.

Lee said: "I wish to be able to pass on my knowledge of Taijutsu to these further generations of onmitsu and kunoichi!"

"Good." Sakura told him. "Especially the last part of it. Because, I wish to have a baby girl in nine months, but I also wish that she is happy, even if this turns out to be a boy."

Lee looked so shocked, happy and emotionally-moved, that everybody else aside from Sakura laughed politely (at him, not with him).

"I wish that I can be the next Hokage!" That was Naruto, of course. He also added: "And, I wish to be able to eat over a million bowls of ramen, and I wish that Hinata and Chou-Chou will always be happy!"

"Naruto-Chan..." Hinata whispered happily. "Arigatoo. I wish that all of your dreams and Chou-Chou's dreams come true..." She paused, and then she added: "Because mine already have."

Jeez, everybody was really getting emotional tonight, weren't they?



"I wish, to be able to be the best I can be." Sai said.

"I wish I could figure out what Madame Amita meant..." Matsuri sighed.

"You will." Sai assured her.

They smiled at one another.

_Hmm..._ Thought Mari, whom had seen and heard all of the gypsy's predictions...

Garaa spoke up next. He said: "I wish...that I can continue to help as many people as I can."



"Good for you." Kankurou grinned at his little brother. "And," He added, turning towards Emma, sitting on the grass beside him with her leg out in front of her. "I wish that I can always make Emi-Chan happy, and that I can always let her know how much I care about her."

"Thanks..." Emma said, staring up at the falling sky. Lights danced across her eyes. "And...I wish..." She now glanced over at Hoshi. "I wish that everybody can find someone to love, and always have friends."

_She means me!_ Hoshi realised just then. She sighed. "I...I wish...I wish for true love and friends..."

"Hoshi-Chan..." Mari said softly to her. "We _are_ your friends..."

The Oklahoma Mix turned out to be VERY interesting. Not everyone was dancing. Those that were turned out to be:

Kai and Kin

Mari and Chouji and a big bag of French fries

Temari and Shikamaru

Hinata and Naruto

Sasuke and Ino

Lee and Sakura

Emma and Kankurou

But, presently, Emma's leg began to hurt her. She also noticed that Hoshi wasn't dancing, and so she said to Kankurou: "Kankurou-Chan?"

"Hmm?"

"Go and dance with Hoshi." Emma ordered him, and then she picked up her crutches and swung off.

Kankurou watched her go - and then he went and danced with Hoshi.



She was thrilled, and a very good dancer. They had a lot of fun together.

Hoshi went off after awhile to talk to Musha and Mushi, and Emma came back to Kankurou.

"Did you have fun?" She asked him, and he nodded. "That's good." She looked him in the eye. "Now, since I beat you today, you had to tell me something, remember?"

Kankurou had not forgotten. He had it in the pocket of his school-shirt. He reached in there to pull it out - just as Hoshi suddenly screamed.

Everyone's heads swivelled upwards.

A woman was floating directly above the bonfire. She had pale white skin, icy-blue hair and strange black eyes. She wore a long white dress, and screamed: "HOSHI! YOU HAVE FAILED! YOU HAVE FAILED TO GET WHAT YOU WANTED! I SHALL NOW PLACE THIS ENTIRE LAND AND EVERYONE IN A CURSE!!"

The entire world suddenly turned white and cold...

MEG: WHAT THE HELL'S WITH ALL OF THAT LATIN-MUMBO-JUMBO!!

Well, I think it looks kinda cool, actually… :)

But…just who's this Snow-Queen?? And…how does she know Hoshi-San??

Will the others trust her after this??

Will everyone be okay??

Will Naruto now turn into a snowman??

I'll update as soon as I can, okay??


	22. In The SnowQueen’s Reach

All I Need To Know

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

In The Snow-Queen's Reach

What the Snow-Queen had done was pretty bad.

She'd encased their entire island in an eternal winter, similar to the likes of _Peruti_ (before Reid, Keil, Farah and Meredy helped the Ice Craymel) and very, very cold.

Also, really _big_ too, because they were all split up again, and all of them were either upset, scared or angry, or all three.

Ino, Sakura, Kin, Ai, Garaa, Kisame and Akamaru woke up to find themselves in a field of snow in the middle of a blizzard (which meant _more_ snow for them)...

Tenten was with Neji, Shino, Sasuke, Chouji and Itachi...aiyeee!! She was the _only girl_! Well, at least she had Neji to protect her from the surrounding pitch-black cavern of darkness (and, it would appear to be true, _dampness_ and _dreariness_)...

Hinata was glad that she had Chou-Chou, Temari and Kiba with her. Zaku and Kankurou, she felt would be better to just go to a different part of the snow-covered forest of pine-trees...

Shikamaru felt he should change his name to _M_ikamaru, or just chop off the _Shika_ part and simply become _Maru_, as he scaled a treacherous cliff-face with Musha, Mushi, Mari and Matsuri (and, he was the only _male_ - ha! Shikamaru had an 'M' name after all!)...

Pinku was terrified, and fluttering nervously around as Sore, Kai, Dosu, Sai and Lee tried to find a way out of the ice-cavern. Which was cool in more then one way...



Naruto had no idea where he was. He wasn't even conscious 

yet...

And, no one _else_ knew where Emma and Hoshi were (and they hoped they were on opposite sides of the island, but that was probably the most contraire...)

Actually, Emma and Hoshi _were_ together. They were also with Kamari, Yumi, Chief and Jaws.

How nice.

The scene from before was recreated, as they woke up in a glade, covered with snow this time...

"WAHAAA!! I MISS SASUKE!!" Ino sobbed.

"WAAAAA!!" Sakura cried, too. "AND _I_ MISS LEEEEE!!"

"WAAAHAAA!!" They both wept.

Kin and Ai rolled their eyes. But, they _did_ kind of miss Kai and Zaku.

Garaa just kept Kisame warm, and Akamaru howled for Kiba.

"Okay, let's play The Animal Game!" Tenten suggested brightly, as they walked slowly through the darkness (why didn't Neji just use Byakugan? Ask the Snow-Queen...)

"Whatever." Shino, Sasuke (holding Itachi) and Chouji said.

They all knew how to play this game.

"Dragon." Tenten said.

"Nightingale." Said Neji from in front of her.

"Elephant." Said Chouji from behind her.

"Tiger." Said Sasuke, whom was next in line. "And," He added, as an afterthought. "My Otouto would say Rabbit, if he was awake, that is..."

"Tiger Moth." Shino said.

"What!" Tenten cried. "No way! That's not even a _real_ insect! Isn't it a _plane_?"



"Don't ask _me_!" Neji exclaimed. "I would've just said Tarantula!"



"Ooh!" Chouji said (he was trying to take his mind off of just how hungry he really was!). "Then _I'd_ say Aardvark!"

"A-A-R-D-V-A-R-K!" Tenten sung.

"What's an Aardvark?" Shino wanted to know.

"I think it eats ants." Sasuke replied. "So, it's an Ant-Eater."

"Ooh, back to R!" Tenten exclaimed. "How about...Rattlesnake!?"

"Great, so then what starts with an 'E' again?" Neji wondered. "Since Chouji already used up Elephant?"

"Mmm..." Sasuke mused. Then, a lightbulb flashed above her head, and they could all see for a moment. "Hey!" Tenten cried, as they were thrown into darkness again. "Did anyone _else_ see that Eagle over there?"

"Where?" Chouji asked her. "I thought that it was an Eel, actually..."

"An EEL!!" Tenten shrieked, her voice echoing around the tunnel. "Gimme a _break_! Everyone here _knows_ we just saw a Lion!"

"No way!" Neji called back to her. "Tenten-Kun, you _know_ that it was a Numbat!"

"What's a Numbat?" She replied.

"Isn't it from Australia?" Chouji wondered. "Hey, just like the Tree-Kangaroo!"

"And," Sasuke spoke up. "The Octopus with blue-rings!"

"Yeah!" Tenten agreed. "The Blue-Ringed Octopus! And, also the...the Stock Horse!"

"Does that even count?" Neji wanted to know.

"It does now." Tenten said firmly.

"Which brings us back to 'E'..." Shino said. "Earwig?"

"Yeah!" Tenten cheered. "And, Giraffe!"

"Not 'E' again!" Sasuke groaned. "Umm...what about...Echidna, also from Australia?"



"Cool!" Chouji said. "And, Ai, which is a kind of Sloth, and for 'H' there's Hippo! And Iguana for 'I'!"

"Ostrich and Antelope!" Tenten sang.

"Hare and..." Shino groaned. "Oh, 'E' is...oh! Elk-Hound!"

"Elk-Hound could have," Neji muttered. "Dog, and then Goat. But the 'E' that's on the end of Hare...??"

"How about Electric Eel?" Tenten suggested innocently.

They all laughed.

"Right," Sasuke said. "Then, for Goat we have Teddy-Bear, and for Electric Eel we have..."

"Leopard!" Shino suggested.

"Yup!" Tenten said. "And then...Rooster, and..."

"Dog-Fish!" Neji put in.

"Yup," Sasuke said. "So then, 'R' and 'H' have..."

"Rhinoceros and Hog?" Shino suggested.

"And," Tenten murmured. "Then for 'S' and 'G' we have..."

"Sand-Mawtin and Gwiffen." Itachi spoke up.

"Did you know he was awake?" Tenten asked Sasuke.

"No." Sasuke replied.

"Doesn't matter, besides," Neji spoke up. "We're out of the tunnel."

They emerged into the light, to find a cold lakefull of Narwhals!

"Brrr! It's soooo COLD!!" Mushi was complaining, as they trudged through the knee-deep snow. Shikamaru went first, followed by Mari, then Matsuri, and Complaining-Mushi with Musha bringing up the rear.

Mushi turned around to check on Musha, and was surprised to find the short red-head smiling.

That was because her hair was so long, she was wearing it as a fur coat!



"Musha-Chan!! What the hell!?" Mushi cried.

Musha grinned. "I feel like a bear!" She exclaimed.

The three in front of them stopped, too.

"Did you…umm…hear that?" Matsuri said tightly.

The others nodded sadly.

Shikamaru looked around, and then saw a little black rock sitting in the snow. After an hour of just whiteness, that black rock looked very wonderful.

Shikamaru walked over, and picked up the black rock.

"GYAAAUURRGHH!!" He yelled, as a huge black-bear rose up from under it, snarling and growling at him.

"KYAAAA!!" Matsuri and Mari screamed.

Once again, they found themselves running for their lives…

"Hakuna Matata…" Hinata was softly singing to her daughter. "What a wonderful phrase. Hakuna Matata. Ain't no passing craze…"

Temari joined in: "It means no worries, for the rest of your days…"

Chou-Chou was still sniffling, but not as much as she was before. Still, Hinata thought she might be coming down with a cold, which wasn't good when they were lost in a forest in the middle of winter.

"When I get my hands on that bitch, Hoshi…" Zaku was muttering as he walked.

"Ssh!" Temari suddenly hissed at him, glancing cautiously over at her brother.

Kankurou was walking behind them, looking as if he'd just lost his best friend (oh, wait, he had) and, occasionally, humming _Better Then Me_, by Hinder.

They all knew what that song meant to him.

_Baka…_ Kiba was thinking. _Trusting Hoshi so much, that now _

_we're all in this mess! I hope Akamaru's doing okay…and I hope that Musha, Mari, Shino and Emma are, too…_

"Otoo-Chama?" Chou-Chou looked up at her Mummy, with identical white eyes. "Where's Daddy? I miss Daddy…"

Hinata exchanged a glance with Temari (remembering that Temari was separated from Shikamaru AND their son), and tried to come up with a little white-lie to save them all from Chou-Chou being in anguish. "He's…uh…your Daddy is…umm…eto…" She cast a glance at the others that clearly said HELP!

Temari shrugged. "He's…" She paused. "Oh, you know Naruto! He's certainly found some ramen shop having an all-you-can-eat for free! In the middle of wherever he is…" She added uncertainly.

That was totally unrealistic and far' fetched, but Chou-Chou was eighteen months old and this answer seemed to satisfy her, because she started singing _He Lives In You_.

Hinata sighed. She missed Naruto, too.

And, she was very, very, VERY worried about _everything_…

Sore was doing a very un-Sore-like thing just then, as she, Kai, Dosu, Sai and Lee walked through an ice-cavern.

"Walking through the i-ice cavern," She sang cheerfully and not at all under her breath. "Like we've been walking for two-oo hours!" She grinned at everyone else. "Everybody!" She invited.

Lee was willing, and Kia, Dosu and Sai resigned themselves to joining in, too.

"Traipsing across the land of ice," They all sang. "Try-ing to find the way out! There's nothing in here but us and the i-ice! Our san-i-ty has long been a sacrifice…"

"I-iin…" Sore sang.



"The Ice Cavern!" They all finished.

Pinku suddenly fluttered down from Sore's head, fluttered in front of them for a moment, and then she opened her beak.

"That was a good song." She said.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!!" Sore, Kai, Sai, Dosu and Lee all screamed.

Around a campfire, far away from the cave of ice, sat Ino, Sakura, Kin, Ai, Garaa, Kisame and Akamaru.

"More toasted pinecone?" Ai offered to Kin.

"Don't mind if I do." Kin lied, because the pinecones were the ONLY thing to eat in the woods. Well, there was _that_, and the _poisonous mushroom_ Ino had found.

Everyone voted pinecones.

"I can't believe there were no animals here." Ai said, handing the pinecone-on-a-stick to Kin, and then glancing around at the darkness of the woods (as dark as white snow can _get_, at night…). "You'd think we'd have seen at least a grizzly bear again, or a cougar, or a Witchity Grub, or _something_ more edible then what we've got!"

"Plus, our Chakra won't let us get our bearings or escape, other than on foot…" Sakura added. "Jeez, I hope the others are okay…"

Before she and Ino could start wailing again, Ai jumped in with: "Say, Sakura-San? What do you think Pinku would say if she could talk?"

Sakura looked up from her gourmet pinecone, her face illuminated by the fire. "Umm, actually…she _can_ talk…"

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!!" Ino, Kin and Ai screamed.

Even Garaa looked surprised, as Sakura shrugged and said: 

"Well, she never _really_ had anything interesting to say, so I kept it quiet. It's no biggie."

A pair of Manticores wandered into the glade.

"Oh, and I suppose you're going to tell me _that's_ not a big deal!" Ino said, sarcastically.

Shikamaru and the four 'M' girls should have been dead.

Except that they got helped out by some very _awesome_ and sort of _equestrian_ animals!

"This is soooo cool!" Mari cried. "Mush, Polar-Chan, mush!" She exclaimed, and the polar bear she was riding was only too happy to obey her.

"Yeah," Mushi said, giggling. "Maybe I didn't know it before, but I always _wanted_ to try riding a tiger! Go, Pura-Chan, go!"

"This is…kinda fun…" Matsuri admitted, as she sat on the back of a baby T-Rex, and waved her hand in the air. "Yee-haaw!!" She added, and Musha laughed.

Musha was sitting on the back of a large grey snow-wolf, and she looked totally happy.

Shikamaru, on the other hand, was going 'hog-wild', as the wild-pig he was riding went psycho at every little thing.

"Bear It!" Mari yelled.

"Orient Express!" Mushi shouted.

"Dino-Might!" Matsuri cheered.

"LAND HOME!!" Musha suddenly screamed, pointing towards the log-cabin ahead of them.

"ONWARDS!!" The girls all shrieked.

_How troublesome…_ Shikamaru thought.

"This is great!" Mari cried.

"This is troublesome…" Shikamaru told her.

"NOT!!" The other girls all screamed, making the hog baulk and Shikamaru fell off…


	23. Ice Princess Kunoichi Showdown

All I Need To Know

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Ice Princess Kunoichi Showdown

Three different groups reached the cabin together.

Those riding assorted bears and dinosaurs (there's NOTHING cooler then a ninja riding a dinosaur!).

Neji and his crew.

And five evil-looking entities.

The reunions take two could wait.

Right now, it was show-show time!

The five girls waiting there for them all had glassy-white-blue skin, icy-blue eyes, and cold, sinister expressions, as well as inversions of what the Doom And Gloom Girls from Day Of Destiny might wear.

One had white hair and wore blue. She attacked Mushi.

DESPAIR!

One had black hair and wore violet. She attacked Musha.

ANGER!

One had blonde hair and wore black. She attacked Tenten.

REGRET!

One had light blue hair and wore grey. She attacked Mari.

PAIN!

And, one had dark blue hair and wore white. She attacked Matsuri.

HATRED!

Neji and the others could only watch, because they were behind a barrier of unbreakable ice.

"TENTEN-KUN! BE CAREFUL!" Neji called to her.



"DON'T WORRY, I WILL BE!" Tenten said, as she blocked an attack aimed at her neck.

"GO GET EM', MARI-CHAN!" Chouji shouted.

"ANYONE UP FOR BBQ BITCH!?" Mari grinned, as she was locked in battle with her enemy.

"WATCH OUT, MUSHI-SAN!" Shino suddenly shouted, as the ninja Mushi was fighting attacked her from behind.

"SHIKOTSU MYAKU!!" A voice suddenly yelled from nowhere.

A second later, veteran Kaguya Sore came flying at the battle, with her katana in her hands.

The Snow-Queen happened to be watching. _This girl is…_ She watched as her daughters were destroyed. The cruel and emotionless woman tapped her white chin with her white finger. _As well as harbouring the Five-Tailed Crow, Gobi Kurasu…it seems as if she is the only member left of the Kaguya Clan…_

The Snow-Queen's gaze travelled across her new white land of darkness.

She saw Garaa, sighing as Sakura and Ino wailed away. _He once harboured the demon Shukaku…but, his powers are still of its evil…though I have in my possession what made them that way…_

And, she saw Emma, helping Kamari and Yumi climb up a hill because Hoshi wasn't going to help. _And, this girl from Earth…why Lord Orochimaru wanted Tatsujuu to merge with such a pitiful child is beyond me…I can only hope that she will never learn of her Clan's Bloodlines…_

Then, the Snow-Queen turned around, and looked calmly at Naruto, sleeping in a vat-full of green liquid that induced a slow and painful death.

"Soon," The Snow-Queen whispered. "I shall have not 

only Shukaku and Kyubii, but Tatsujuu and Gobi Kurasu as well…"

She smiled.

"Then…I shall finally resurrect The Moon God…"

MEG: Altogether here now…NNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOO!!

EVERYBODY ELSE: NNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOO!!

NARUTO: OOOOOO…HEY!! WHY AM I IN A _VAT_!!


	24. Song Of The Food

All I Need To Know

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Song Of The Food

As sung by:

. Sore

. Musha

. Mushi

. Mari

. Chouji

. Ino

. Lee

(Yes, Lee, Ino and their group made it to the log cabin, too…)

SORE: Ohhh, I was so hungry, back when I was lost…

MARI: But now we're found, and this food, hasn't got a co-o-oooost…

SASUKE: Oh fu…

ALL SINGERS: We're in a cabin made of logs, it's not only warm, but there's food! We'll eat it all even if we will get sued!

I like the look of the turkey in the oven!

MARI: Thank you! (She's cooking it).

ALL SINGERS: Let's get a move on, let's eat something that's not pinecones…



ALL THAT DIDN'T HAVE TO EAT PINECONES: Huh?

MUSHA: Look there, oh look!

SORE: I see it!

BOTH: It's a soufflé!

MUSHI: We'd better eat it before Chouji does!

ALL THREE: That's right!

LEE: I'm not the world's best cook, but Mari's showing me how…

To prepare steak for three, that's a bite for Sakura and two for me…

ALL SINGERS: Yeah!

We're in a cabin made of logs, it's not only warm, but there's food! We'll eat it all even if we will get sued!

There's a suckling pig over there with my name written on it!

CHOUJI: But we might not get a chance if no one cooks it!

MARI AND SORE: Oh! Here, I can cook it!

MUSHA: Grab that crab, Mushi-Chan!

MUSHI: Eat that meat, Musha-Chan!

INO: No, Lee-Kun, no! You can't use _tha-a-at_! It's got to be this full-cream he-e-ere…

MARI: Look, I heard from Kai that full-cream gives you a heart atta-a-ack!



ALL OTHER SINGERS: Look here, we don't care! As long as the food you'll soon prepare…

IS RIGHT THERE!

ALL SINGERS: There!

We're in a cabin made of logs, it's not only warm, but there's food! We'll eat it all even if we will get sued!

Maybe we'll say Grace before we eat, for our friends that we're still yet to meet…

In the cabin he-e-e-e-ere…

SORE: Made of logs!

MUSHA: That is warm!

MUSHI: In the woods!

MARI: Where there's snow!

CHOUJI: Can we eat? (I'm hungry…)

INO: Lee-Kun?

LEE: Dinner's served!!

EVERYONE: YYYAAAYYY!!

MEG: I dunno _why_ I thought this chapter was an important one…


	25. A Temporary Truce

All I Need To Know

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

A Temporary Truce

Emma, Hoshi, Kamari and Yumi reached the top of the hill by midday, according the Emma's built-in clock and Jaws' rendition of _You Are My Sunshine_. Emma was holding Chief by the reins, Yumi and Kamari were arguing over which one of them got to be Queen/King Of The Hill, and Hoshi took one look around and cried: "_Oh, for God's sake! Another FINE mess you've gotten us into, Emma-San!_"

"Hoshi-San…" Emma began plaintively.

"WHAT!!" Hoshi practically screamed. "And, don't you DARE tell me to calm down, because it's all YOUR FAULT!!"

Emma's long, very slow-burning fuse ignited.

Chief and Jaws herded the two kids a few feet away.

"HOSHI-SAN! SHUT THE HELL UP, AND LISTEN TO ME!!" Emma screamed.

Hoshi was so surprised, that she _did_ stop yelling, blinked, looked at Emma, and mumbled: "What?"

As quickly as she'd flown off the handle, Emma calmed down again. "Look," She said with dead calmness. "We need to find the others, and find out where we are. I won't blame you or order you around more then necessary, if you stop blaming _me_, and you also have to stop complaining so much. Okay?"

Hoshi stared at her for a moment. Should she say yes, or kill Emma right then and there?

"Yes." Hoshi said.

"Also," Emma gave her a faint smile. "Please, try to be 

_nice_ to the kids, okay? They're a lot more scared then we are…"

They both glanced over at Kamari and Yumi, still arguing over the hill's heirachy.

Hoshi suddenly walked over to them, and said: "Why don't you _both_ be the king and queen? A hill needs _two_ rulers, in case something happens to one of them."

Kamari and Yumi both smiled.

"Yay!" Yumi cried. "We be Qween Yumi and King Kamawi!"

"What could happen to someone on a hill?" Emma asked, stepping up to them.

Hoshi suddenly gave her a very sincere smile. "This!" She cried, and pushed Emma down the hill's gentle slope.

"YIKES!" Emma shrieked.

Hoshi wondered: _I hope she knows I did that for fun. I wasn't trying to kill her, this time…for once…_

Emma reached the bottom of the hill, stood up, dusted herself off, turned around and then she yelled: "THAT WAS SOOOO MUCH FUN!! _MINA_, EVERYONE TRY IT!!"

"YAY!" Yumi yelled again, and flung herself belly-first onto the slope. Sliding down like a sled, she yelled: "LOOK AT ME! I'M A PING-WING!"

Hoshi burst out laughing as Yumi slid down to Emma's waiting arms. "Did she mean _penguin_!?" Hoshi called down to Emma, as Kamari prepared to slip-slide away.

Emma stood up with Yumi in her arms, and gave Hoshi her most serious look. "No," She called. "She _really_ meant ping-wing!"

The two girls stared at one another, and then they burst out laughing.



"Hey! Lookee! Over thewe!" Kamari, in mid-slide, suddenly called.

A bunch of 'ping-wings' had suddenly waddled up out of nowhere, and Emma just got an idea.

"Hey, Jaws-Chan! Go and ask em' if they've seen any of the others?" Emma asked her parrot.

"Squawk! You come too! You come too!" He said, so they all went together.

"Umm…eto…penguins…" Emma said.

The group of fity or so Emporer Penguins stared solemnly back at her.

"Uh…have you seen anyone else…that looks like us?" Emma asked. "You know, like, _humans_?"

The penguins exchanged a glance, and then one of them stepped forward.

_If he talks…_ Hoshi thought.

"Yes, we have." It said.

_Yikes!_ Hoshi was stunned.

(MEG: It's, like, _every_ bird can suddenly talk…)

Emma was excited. "Really? Where? How many of them?" She paused. "Was there a guy with purple facepaint and a black hood with cat-like ears?" She glanced at the kids and Hoshi. "And, was he with a girl with curly and sproingy hair, or a short red-haired girl? Or a girl with four blonde pigtails carrying a fan and a a dark haired, bored-looking man? Or, was there a red-haired boy, short – like me – with a gourd of sand on his back and a erd tattoo? Did you by any chance see a blonde girl with that same tattoo, and was she with a boy with short dark hair and sort of light-cocoa skin?"

The penguins all sweatdropped.

Then, their leader cleared his throat. "We saw," He said. "All of those people you have described, as well as 

many other people."

"One had _pink_ hair!" A little girl penguin chirped.

"There was a big, scary dog!" Another penguin added.

"I think I saw a white-eyed girl with a smaller white-eyed girl…" A mostly white penguin put in.

"I saw a white-eyed man!" Another female penguin supplied.

"There was even a really _fat_ one!" A little male penguin added, and all of the younger penguins laughed.

"Sakura…Akamaru…Hinata…Chou-Chou…Neji…

Chouji…" Emma mused.

"Where did they all go?" Hoshi wanted to know.

The lead penguin pointed across a lake of blue ice. "There is a log cabin many travellers use here." He explained to them. "They were all headed there."

"Okay, thanks…" Hoshi began, but he interrupted her.

"The lake of ice we call Shi-Chi is the most dangerous place to go across." He sounded grave. "A terrible beast called White Death lives in there, and he breaks the ice to eat anyone that tries to cross. It takes a good day to get across, if at all." He added, and Emma and Hoshi gulped.

"Well, we tried, squawk!" Jaws turned to go.

But, then, Emma and Hoshi both thought of: Kankurou, Musha, Mushi, Mari, Kai, Garaa, Temari, Shikamaru, and the hopes of finding Hayate and Yuugao, and they both said: "We'll have to cross!"

Jaws looked outraged. "What's this _we_!?" He cried in his bird-voice. "_That_ is a great ice monster called White Death! We are you, a traitor, two munchkins and _me_! … No, wait, don't count me in there…"

"God, he's like Iago…" Hoshi rolled her pretty violet eyes. All thoughts trained on her goal, she quietly said: 

"Emma, the kdis, Chief and I will walk it. Let the bird fly." 

"Nah, too cold." Jaws chattered.

"Wimp." Hoshi said.

Emma burst out laughing.

…

"White Death…" The Snow-Queen smirked. "You know what to do. Kill that traitor, the two brats, the mule and the canary – but _bring the vessel of Tatsujuu to me_, do you understand me?"

"Yes, Milady…" The psychic voice growled.

The giant blue-white Great White Shark-like monster swam off.

…

Kankurou awoke with a start. "Emma!" He cried.


	26. Escape – Barely

All I Need To Know

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Escape – Barely

The ice began to rumble when they were a little more then half-way across.

Emma and Hoshi stared at each other, holding a quick conversation with their eyes.

Then, Emma grabbed Yumi and Hoshi grabbed Kamari. Together, they swung both kids onto Chief's back, and Emma slapped the horse's rump.

Chief took off, galloping as fast as he could without slipping on the ice, as a huge shadow approached them.

"JAWS-CHAN, GO!" Emma cried.

"No! I stand and fight, squawk!" The parrot protested.

Hoshi turned to Jaws with a look that could've burned a hole through diamond. "Bird! Now!" She barked.

"Yes'm!" Jaws flew away hurriedly, just as a giant shark crashed out of the ice.

WHITE DEATH…

"Fire burns ice, right Emma-San?" Hoshi said grimly to Emma.

Emma nodded. "So, let's burn it!" She cried, and she and Hoshi jumped up.

"EBONY FIRE!" Hoshi shouted.

"AOI FIRE!" Emma yelled.

The blue and black flames shot towards White Death, but he opened his mouth and shot a stream of water out that extinguished the fire.

"Fuck…" Hoshi muttered, and Emma gave her a wry glance that clearly said 'Save that word for extremities'…



White Death suddenly lunged forward, and the two girls could hear his thoughts: _Bring Tatsujuu to Milady! Kill the others!_

He slammed straight into Hoshi.

"NO!" Emma screamed.

She suddenly remembered where White Death came from. It was the name some great guy had given to the Great White Shark.

White Death…hmm, how appropriate in a land of _snow_…

_White…white…think WHITE_!

Emma's eyes snapped open. She ran forward, and leapt straight at White Death, as Hoshi fell to the ground in a pool of blood.

Emma grabbed onto the giant shark's nose, and screamed: "BIANCA FIRE!!"

White flames, like the one Hoshi's Dad Raiko had used, engulfed both Emma and White Death. The shark's rough skin grazed Emma's arms and legs, and she was thrown to the ground beside Hoshi, as White Death sank slowly back into the icy lake.

_I'll get you…_ They heard him promise.

Emma struggled to get up, feeling two broken arms and a lot of blood.

She glanced at Hoshi, and nearly passed out.

Hoshi was more broken and battered then she was, with blood seeping from her nose, mouth, ears and eyes.

_Internal bleeding! I have to get her to the cabin!_

Jaws came rocketing back, as a blizzard blew in, and Emma picked up Hoshi with great difficulty.

"This way!" She ehard her faithful parrot screech.

Emma began the painful and crucial trip towards safety, as her blood and Hoshi's blood left a long trail across 

the lake called Shi-Chi…


	27. Rest, Recovery And Regret

All I Need To Know

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Rest, Recovery And Regret

Everyone had been terrified when Chief had galloped straight into the front room, with two terrified kids on his back.

Everyone else besides Emma, Hoshi, Naruto and Jaws were there.

Temari and Shikamaru instantly scooped up their trembling and pale son, and Yumi collapsed, sobbing, into Mari's arms.

Bit by bit, they explained what had happened.

Garaa had to use his sand to stop Kankurou from running out into the blizzard to find Emma (and Hoshi).

"I have to find her and tell her I'm sorry!" Kankurou protested. "Otouto! Let! Me! Go!"

Garaa did so, just as the door of the front of the cabin slammed open.

Emma stood there, looking like she's just been in a fight with a lawnmower.

Everyone stared at her, as she stepped in, and shut the door with her left foot.

Jaws flew by Kankurou, and Kankurou was staring at Emma with tears in his eyes.

Everyone gasped, however, when Emma suddenly dropped what she was carrying on her back.

Hoshi tumbled to the floor, dripping pools of blood everywhere.

"Hurry…" Emma said wearily, moving like she was underwater towards Kankurou. "She's lost so much blood…she's not breathing…"



She collapsed into Kankurou arms.

Everyone rushed into action.

…

Healing Jutsus were out of the question. White Death had placed curses on both of the girls, preventing them from being healed by Chakra. It was up to the old-school way of remedies.

Hoshi was in terrible shape. She was so badly injured, that she had Sakura, Ino, Temari, Lee _and_ Shino working to save her. She had a huge gash to her stomach from the shark's teeth, cuts all up her arms and legs, she'd broken three ribs when she'd fallen and her left ankle was fractured. The bone stuck out of there.

But, the most critical part of her injuries was her head. She was bleeding at an alarming rate from an internal injury, and the people working to save her life had to work _fast_. Stitches, bandaging, stitches on the _inside_, and metal-plates inserted strategically inside of her skull to holf things together.

It was long, pain-staking and risky.

Hoshi was on the edge of dying a terrible death.

At one point during the procedure, Neji came into the make-shift operating theatre, examine the readings of Hoshi's brain-waves, and then announced: "She may have permanent _memory loss_, if she survives."

"She _will_ survive." Temari said firmly, cleaning the area around Hoshi's stomach-wound. "We are _not_ going to let her die, not after what it took to get her here in the first place…" She paused. "Umm, speaking of which…how 

is…"

Kankurou's scream could suddenly be heard throughout the building.

…

Kankurou stood in the secondary make-shift operating theatre, and stared at the figure lying on the operating table, smiling up at him.

Bandages covered both of her arms, her right knee, and stitches dotted around her body, but she said: "Nihao! Eh…baybou…"

Mari came up behind a stunned Kankurou, as he watched his girlfriend chat on in Cantonese. "Dun' worry," Mari said, wiping a fleck of blood from Kankurou's face. "That'll wear off, eventually."

"Ya!"

"_Wheeeeeen!!_" Kankurou wailed.


	28. Three Months Down The Track

All I Need To Know

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Three Months Down The Track

"This is the day we destroy the Snow-Queen, once and for all!" Sasuke declared firmly.

"And…find Naruto…" Hinata sniffed.

They had all read the note from three weeks ago. It said:

I HAVE THE DEMON KYUBII. IF YOU WANT HIM BACK, THEN GIVE TO ME TATSUJUU AND GOBI KURASU, AS WELL AS THE FORMER HARBOUR OF SHUKAKU.

THE SNOW-QUEEN

Like a certain someone else's notes, this one had burst into flame.

For three months, the onmitsu and kunoichi living in the log house had been preparing, resting and waiting.

They'd gotten angry.

Upset. Scared.

Suicidal.

The endless winter was getting to them.

Even Sore had stopped singing, and started practicing her Kaguya techniques.

Other Clan skills being honed included Uchiha, Hyuga, Inuzaku and Sand Siblings (they need a surname…)

People had developed new skills as well…

For example, Mari could now create a whirlwind of snow that she called Yukiya. Ino could, too.



Shino and Mushi had perfected something called Insecticide. Garaa had a new skill that he called Sand Obituary. Sore helped him to perfect it. Itachi was picking up some of Sasuke's skills. Kisame fought like Kiba. Everyone was training hard. They honed their skills. They remembered old tecniques from their Senseis. They moved faster. They hit harder. They battled wiser.

But, of course, they were still feeling the pressures of everything.

Emma and Hoshi had spent a great deal of time recovering from their encounter with a shark. Emma had recovered first – because she wanted to – and spent a whole two weeks beside Hoshi's bed as soon as she could move, when Hoshi was still in a coma.

Everyone was steering clear of starting a conversation with her about this. Her feelings towards Hoshi were still as unclear as the blizzard that came through every evening, and while most of them were ready to rip Hoshi to shreds because she was somehow tied back to the Snow-Queen, one thing Emma had VERY clearly stated was: "We're all in this together, whether we want to be or not. We have to find Naruto, and we have to get back on track. To do that, we need _everyone_ working together. Team Seven – Sakura, Sasuke and Pinku. Team Eight – Hinata, Shino, Kiba and Akamaru. Team Ten – Ino, Chouji and Shikamaru. The Sound Ninja – Dosu, Zaku and Kin. The Foster-Sisters – Sore and Ai. The Sand Siblings – Garaa, Temari and my Kankurou. My very best friends – Mari, Kai, Chief and Jaws. Our new friends – Sai and Matsuri. The next generation, the kids we all love – Yumi, Chou-Chou, Kamari, Kisame and Itachi. And…those from Earth, also – Musha, Mushi 

and, yes, Hoshi. We _all_ need to work together. That's the only way we'll find Naruto. It's the only way we'll survive."

"Well, when you put it that way…" Mari had said. "Now, let me change your left-arm bandage…"

"I don't _need_ it on anymore!" Emma retorted hotly, feeling like an invalid.

"Well, you're _not_ taking it off!" Mari snapped. "_I'm_ going to change it for a fresh one, and it's staying _on_!"

Quarrels like this were not uncommon in what they were now all calling 'The Ice-Lake Cabin'.

Recently:

Kiba had gotten into a heated argument with Sasuke, because Sasuke had called Musha 'weak'. Sasuke had simply meant she wasn't as strong as, oh say, Ino…

Temari was getting annoyed with most people, because most people were annoying her. She must've yelled at ten different people, including her brothers, forced everyone to clean their temporary rooms at least three times a week for a month, and cleaned every single room in the house herself!

The kitchen, living room, bathrooms, dining room and front-hallways sparkled so that only Shino with his sunglasses could stand them.

And, the most annoyed people of all, the ones getting into a physical fight at leats once a day, and for what reasons, were:

Kankurou – he was worried about his girlfriend, and also about Hoshi…

Neji – he was acting more arrogant then _usual_, because his cousin was upset…

And…Hinata! Yes, normally quiet and shy Hinata seemed to have developed a split-personality in the time 

spent at 'The Ice-Lake Cabin'. This may have been because her _daughter_ was extremely upset because her Father was kidnapped. Hinata missed Naruto.

She spent one third of her time moping around, sniffling, weeping and occasionly cooking to take her mind off of things.

Another third of her time was spent angry, at the Snow-Queen, and sometimes taking it out on various people, including Kiba and Shino.

And, the _last_ third of her time, she spent training, in preparation for the fight that was to come…

…

One day…

Emma suddenly started yelling at about half past six in the morning, calling for everyone to come quickly!

The residants of 'The Ice-Lake Cabin' stampeded into Hoshi's room, where they found Emma grinning, and Hoshi…wide awake!

"SHE'S AWAKE!" Musha and Mushi cried together and lunged at Hoshi, throwing their arms around her and all three of them started crying.

The men all sweatdropped.

Sakura, Hinata and Ino were weeping happily, too.

"But…" Emma suddenly said.

Hoshi looked up as her two best friends drew away. She frowned, confused, and then said: "Wa…watashi wa…Hoshi desu…hai?"

Emma nodded knowingly.

Hoshi looked around her. "I am…Hoshi…" She said 

again, and then: "_Tomodachi no Musha-San desu_. _Tomodachi no Mushi-San desu._" She gazed around in confusion. "And…and…that is…Mari…Kai…but…who are all of you?"

Everyone else except for Hoshi and Emma gasped.

Neji had been right after all.

Hoshi had lost her memory.


	29. Getting It Right

All I Need To Know

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Getting It Right

It was still about ten days before Sasuke would declare that they were going to kill the Snow-Queen on that day.

Everyone was busy training.

"Aoi Fire!" Mari cried, and shot a perfect wave of blue fire, which hit the red and white target, bulls-eye.

"Shourisha!" Emma cheered, glad that she'd finally taught her best friend her favourite Jutsu. Even though Mari had needed to invent a hand-seal for it (it wasn't a very complicated one) it reassured Emma greatly to know that Mari would be able to protect herself and others using it.

Mari held up her index finger like a gun, and pretended to blow smoke away from it. "Ichiban-Sensei!" She told her best friend, and she meant it too.

Even though her arms were still injured and she couldn't fight yet, Emma wasn't in despair. She was teaching everything she knew to everybody else.

…

Meanwhile, Hoshi was also being taught, by everybody.

She had to remember a lot – but no one wanted to tell her about Kankurou, and how she had liked him so much.

Kankurou was staying away from Hoshi, too.

But, it came a time when they met.



"Hang on!" Hoshi cried. "Chotto! I haven't met these people!"

'These people', by the way, were Kankurou, Garaa, Sai, Matsuri and Sore.

Mushi and Musha, showing Hoshi around again, knew that meant 'I don't remember meeting them, but I'm sure that I have…' and introduced everybody.

"That's Garaa, Sai, Sore, Matsuri and…Kankurou…" Musha told her.

"Umm…eto…" Hoshi stared hard at each of them, in turn. "Sai and Matsuri…are going out?"

"NO!" Matsuri cried.

Sai sighed.

"Why not?" Hoshi demanded. "You're friends, and you look cute together!"

"Ah…well…" Matsuri blushed pink.

Sai looked embarrassed.

But, Hoshi had already turned to Sore. She suddenly grinned. "Kaguya Sore!" She cried.

"That's right." Sore nodded.

"And…" Hoshi muttered. "Eto…Gobi Kurasu…"

Sore gasped. "I never told her _that_!" She exclaimed.

Everybody else kinda cringed.

Hoshi looked at the two sand brothers next. "Eto…Sabaku No Garaa? Kazekage?"

Garaa nodded.

"I remember…" Hoshi murmured. "Eto…you and him brothers, hai?" She glanced at Kankurou, and he nodded. "Kankurou…Kankurou…" Hoshi shook her head. "Nope, no recollection! I guess I didn't like you or something!" She looked sideways at Garaa. "I think I like _you_, though…" She added.

Garaa remained silent.



"Time to go!" Musha said, a little too cheerfully, as she and Mushi led Hoshi away.

_Man, amnesia is what I need right now…_ Kankurou thought. He shrugged. _I'd better go and find…_

"Kankurou-Kun!" Neji's sharp voice cut through to Kankurou, as the white-eyed Hyuga man practically charged up the hallway. When he reached Kankurou, he looked ready to kill him.

_That wasn't it…_ Kankurou though, wearily.

…

Neji was trying to stay calm, as he seethed: "Kankurou-Kun! Get yourself outside and help!"

"Help with what?"

"There's a messenger and she's asking for YOU!" Neji practically spat. "Now!"

Something in Neji's voice made Kankurou absolutely shatter the world-record for the hallway to front-door sprint. He burst out of the door, and found a harpy-like woman standing in the snow, waiting for him.

Emma and Mari were standing some ways back, nursing bruises.

"She _attacked_ us!" Mari screeched, when she saw Kankurou. "And, she wants to talk to _you_!"

_I hope Emma's okay…_ Kankurou thought. _And…Mari too, I guess…_ Then, he turned to the harpy. "Okay, I'm here!" He growled.

"You…Kankurou?" She rasped.

Kankurou nodded. "I…" He drawled.

The harpy was about 5'7", with a wild tangle of black hair, cold blue eyes and a dress that was black and mad eher look like the angel of death.



The, uh, fifteen feet black _wings_ didn't go astray, either…

She stepped forward across the snow. "My name," She said icily. "Is Raven."

_How original._ Kankurou thought sarcastically.

"I was once a subordinate to the Snow-Queen," Raven went on. "But, that was before that whore let her daughters and my friends be killed by _your_ kunoichi!" She glared over at Mari. "_That_ one!" She added bitterly.

"Yeah, so?" Kankurou shrugged.

Raven looked outraged. "So," She yelled. "I want you to either kill yourselves or kill the Snow-Queen! Either way I'll be happy!"

"Good." Kankurou said, striding over and helping the two girls to their feet, as everyone else trickled out of the house. "Because we're killing the Snow-Queen."

"Snow-Queen…" Hoshi whispered. "Why do I…?? I think I…" And, she knew. She remembered. She knew the Snow-Queen.

How could she not?

It was her Mother.


	30. The Ice Tower

All I Need To Know

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

The Ice Tower

Soon after Raven had come and gone, the kunoichi and onmitsu and their animal familiars ventured through the woods, and into the tower where Raven had said the Snow-Queen lived.

"How come we didn't notice it before?" Ino asked, staring up at a huge blue-white tower.

"Because you were clueless!" Pinku chirped.

Everyone except for Sakura jumped. They still hadn't gotten used to a talking bird yet.

…

_I didn't want to bring the kids…_ Hinata was thinking, as they climbed a staircase.

_I should've eaten more before we left…_ Chouji was realising, as he helped Mari up the stairs.

_This is troublesome…_

_When I find Naruto-Bozu, me and Sasuke are gonna kill him!_

_Who's Naruto?_

You know the owners of these three thoughts…

…

_Climb higher, pitiful brats. For soon, I shall have all four of the tailed-demons I seek…_

…

The room they arrived in was white, and there was another door at the other side, being guarded by a big stone statue with swords.

_If it speaks…_ Kai thought.

"Halt!" The statue ordered them.

_Yikes_! Kai and the others screeched to a halt.

"You must answer these four questions, to pass." The statue told them. "Otherwise, I will kill you all."

There was a general group gulp.

The statue said: "What is the name…of the purple-haired Celestian in Tales Of Destiny Two?"

"Huh?" Everyone said.

Then, Mari suddenly cried: "Oh! Oh, I know! It's Meredy, isn't it!?"

"That is correct." The statue said, and everyone else breathed a sigh of relief. He continued: "Next question. What are the names of the two sibling bandicoots featured in the Universal Interactive Studios games?"

"Crash Bandicoot!" Kai yelled, at the same time Chouji called out: "Cocoa!"

_He probably meant the DRINK…_ Sakura scowled.

The statue just seemed to accept it, though, and he went on: "On the animated TV show, _The Animals Of Farthing Wood_, what are the names of the Fox and Vixen's four cubs, and which ones die?"

Hinata, the girlfriend of the harbour for the Nine-Tailed Fox, spoke up just then. "They are," She said calmly. "Bold and Dreamer, and they die. And Friendly and Charmer. They live."

"Correct." The statue said. "Now, Emma may NOT answer this question…"

_Why not?_ Tatsujuu wondered.

_Ssh!_ She hissed.

"What are the names of the four albums by Disturbed?"

Everyone gasped.

"Only Emma _would_ know that answer!" Kiba cried.

"Wait…I know one…" Mari suddenly said. "Is…_The Sickness_?"

"Wasn't _Believe_ after that?" Kai wondered.

"_Ten Thousand Fists_ was the next one…wasn't it?" Kankurou muttered.

"And, _Indestructable_…hai?" Hoshi shocked everyone, especially when she and the others answered correctly, and the statue let them move on.

"The people closest to her answered correctly…" Raiko smiled. "Good luck…"


	31. VS The SnowQueen

All I Need To Know

CHAPTER THIRTY

…VS THE SNOW-QUEEN

"NARUTO-CHAN!" Hinata cried, as they came to the top of the tower and there was Naruto, in a vat.

"Where is…" Neji muttered.

The Snow-Queen appeared before them.

"There she is." Tenten groaned.

"You have doen well to reach me, and I thank you." The Snow-Queen told them.

"For _what_!?" Temari snapped.

"For bringing me Tatsujuu, Gobi Kurasu and what was once Shukaku." The evil woman explained.

"I battled my way up here, we _all_ did!" Sakura cried. "No way we're letting you take Garaa, Emma and Sore!"

"Then feel the wrath of the ice legions!" The Snow-Queen shouted, and two ice-soldiers appeared.

"We'll deal with this!" Sasuke cried, nodding over at Ino.

"Right!" Ino nodded. "Get to Naruto! And stop the Snow-Queen!"

As she and Sasuke ran forward to begin battle with the snow minions, Hoshi suddenly screamed: "STOP!" Just like Marina in _Mischief Makers_.

Surprisingly, everybody did.

And, Hoshi's scream shattered the glass of Naruto's vat.

He fell out, looked around, and cried: "Where am I!?"

Hinata and Chou-Chou ran to him.

Hoshi faced the Snow-Queen. "She's my Mother!" She told the others.

Everyone was stunned, except for Mari.

"I knew it." She said quietly.



Everyone was doubly-stunned.

The Snow-Queen said: "Once, I may have been your Mother. But," She glared at Hoshi. "I now have no family!"

"Wrong!" Raiko appeared in a cloud of smoke. "Shing, _please_, stop this! Resist the evil that has taken over you!"

"IT HASN'T!" Shing sounded remarkably like her daughter, as she glowed with fury. "WITH ALL OF YOU HERE, I NOW RECALL THE MOON GOD!!"

"NO!" Emma, Mari, Kai, Kankurou, Garaa and Temari all gasped.

Matsuri grabbed onto Sai's arm. "I don't wanna die!" She cried.

Sai blushed. /

The world began to tremble.

And, the chosen ones were in a world of whiteness.

Emma, Sore, Naruto and Garaa stood there, as someone began to take shape before them.

Their demons, the dragon, crow, nine-tailed fox and racoon-dog, stood behind the figure that appeared…


	32. Heeeere’s Baki!

All I Need To Know

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Heeeere's Baki!

The figure that took shape before the four chosen ones, was none other then…

"YOU!" The four of them cried.

"I…" Baki said calmly.

"WHY!?" They all cried.

"Because you must save the world, again." He told them simply.

"WHY!?" They all cried again.

Behind Baki, Gobi Kurasu and Kyubii wore bemused expressions. For once, Shukaku didn't look like he was going to go on a killing-spree (although Garaa certainly did) and five of Tatsujuu's heads were sleeping, three were looking around in wonder, and two were having a staring contest.

Naruto shifted from one foot to another, growing more worried about his family and friends, and also more hungry with each passing nano-second.

Next to him, Sore was humming nervously under her breath, all of her thoughts were focused on Dosu, Ai, Zaku, Kin and maybe even Kai.

Beside her, Emma was also thinking about Kai. And Kin. And Mari. And Chouji. And Chou-Chou. And Hinata. And Neji. And Tenten. And Temari. And Shikamaru. And Kamari. And Hoshi. And Jaws. And Akamaru. And Kiba. And Musha. And especially Kankurou. She decided not to worry about them all for the moment, and just worried about a random person, which turned out to be Dosu Kinuta, and she could tell that Sore was also thinking about the rough-edged Sound Ninja.

Garaa was focusing his attention almost entirely on his former-teacher. Only a small fraction of his mind was wondering about Hoshi, Kankurou, Temari, Shikamaru and Kamari.

Garaa hoped Hoshi was okay. He's never wanted to admit it, after all she'd done to everyone. But…something about her…

Baki said: "I have known this would happen for many years now, since The Sacrifice that took place in the 44th Training Ground."

(Emma literally flinched).

"The Snow Queen has an evil inside of her," Baki went on. "That feeds off of a desire to resurrect The Moon God."



(It was now Garaa's turn to wince).

"Those Ice Princesses the kunoichi defeated were her created daughters, and Hoshi and Raven's sisters." Baki continued. "Though Hoshi and Raven share only the same Mother. They both know they may have to kill their own Mother to save everyone."

(This time it was Sore that grimaced).

"And," Baki finished. "I know that you four are the only ones who can help them to do this, even though it may kill all six of you."

(And now it was Naruto that cringed).

"Could we really…die…??" He stammered.

Baki sighed, and then he nodded. "It's a possibility." He replied softly.

The four chosen ones exchanged a wary glance.

"You must rest." Baki explained to them, and snapped his fingers.

They were standing in a Japanese-Styled house.

"I'll come and get you in three days, which is seventy-two hours." He told them. "And, don't worry," He added, seeing the looks on their faces. "The seventy-two hours that you spend here, in this surrealistic world, amounts up to exactly two seconds in the real world. Sayonara." He bowed, and then disappeared, leaving only four medium-sized stuffed-animals of the four tailed-demons with their owners.


	33. Shark Attack

All I Need To Know

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

Shark Attack

**DAWN OF THE FIRST DAY**

**72 HOURS REMAIN**

The house was small, but comfortable. Outside was kind of scary, there was a beautiful plain, and a sprawling mountain range and it reached an ocean in the distance that seemed to never end (and, it probably doesn't – they weren't willing to test it out).

Inside the house, which Naruto immediately called 'Naruto's House' and claimed it as his own, they found everything they'd need to live for three days, until Baki came back and got them.

There was a kitchen, with plenty of food and drinks and stuff. Two bathrooms with sinks and water-closets, and then a hat-spring with a divider for boys and girls. There were two bedrooms, each with two beds in them. And, there was a living room, with Fox Tel, somehow…

Naruto wanted to eat straight away, but Sore said that they should wash up first, and find a change of clothes, because Naruto's clothes had goo from his vat in there, Emma's and Garaa's both sported stains from their own blood (nothing _too_ serious) and Sore's clothes were slightly torn, and about to fall off. She didn't want that to happen, and so they trooped upstairs to take a bath.

The four of them, two girls on one side and two guys on the other, relaxed into the warm waters and soaked away God-knows-what from their skins.

They didn't talk, sing or even think. They just _relaxed_…

Fluffy white, pink, maroon and orange towels awaited each of their respective owners.

In their room, Sore and Emma found clothes waiting and folded up neatly on their beds. Sore tossed Gobi Kurasu onto her pillow and Emma placed Tatsujuu on her bedside table, and the two girls got changed.

"What _is_ this place, anyways?" Sore asked, speaking for the first time since saying they should wash up, as she slipped into a short Japanese-style robe, which was white with a light red (not pink) waist tie, and it was comfortable. She slipped on a pair of pristine white socks, and then slid on the awaiting white bunny slippers.

"Kawaii!" Emma exclaimed, and then added: "I dunno. I don't think we're _supposed_ to know. We're just supposed to relax and prepare for…well, you know…"



Sore nodded thoughtfully as Emma, in robes similar to the Mist Kunoichi's except in sugar pink and baby sky-blue, put on her snow-white socks and her (kawaii) white _sheep_ slippers, and then the two of them went back out and into the hallway.

They found the two onmitsu waiting patiently for them, wearing similar-styled robes except in a boy's-style. Garaa's were tawny and red, and Naruto's were bright orange and white.

They all trooped downstairs where:

. Emma made a totally _ouishi_ soup, using that blue vegetable she'd used in Konoha when she was fourteen.

. Garaa found all of these herbs and spices, and made four special tea-blends for everyone – chamomile and spearmint for Naruto, green and mint for Sore, plain Ocha for himself, and green tea and Jasmine for Emma.

. Sore made a totally _gorgeous_ salad, complete with the _best_ of the iceberg lettuce, radish curls, cheese stars, grated celery and carrot sprinkles and the blue vegetable was the centrepiece, mochiron…

. And Naruto actually scared the friggin _hell_ out of everyone, when he made a chocolate sponge cake with a whipped cream filling for dessert – and, no one _died_ when they ate it…

"Chouji would _love_ this." Emma said as they sat down in the living room, and everyone agreed.

Naruto turned on the TV and, for half an hour, the four of them sat there in silence and watched the episode of _Naruto_ where people cheat on the Chunnin Exams.

They stopped being scared when the show finished (imagine seeing _yourself_ on television) and then they chatted and ate and watched: _Totally Spies_, _Teen Titans_, _The Big Knights_, _Real Monsters_, _Märchen Awakens Romance_, _WITCH_ and then they watched the end of the movie called _Jaws_.

"AAAUUURRRGGGHHH!!" Emma screamed, hiding her eyes as the captain slid into the shark's mouth and got devoured from the waist down, first... (yeah, I know, _eeww_…) His screams drowned out her own.

"Haven't you seen this before, Emma-Chan?" Garaa asked her, not taking his eyes off of the spectacle onscreen.

"Uh huh…" Emma whimpered, from behind her couch-cushion. "It's still the worst part…"

However…

"YAY!!" Sore cheered, when Brody blew the shark to smithereens.

"NOOOO!!" Emma and Garaa both howled.

"I thought you didn't like it!" Sore cried.

Emma shrugged. "I don't like when the captain and that little boy get eaten," She explained simply. "But," She added strongly. "I _do_ like sharks."

Sore nodded understandingly.

"Is it over yet?" Naruto gasped from behind _two_ couch-cushions.

"Yes…" Emma began.

Then…

"YOU DIDN'T WATCH _ANY_ OF IT!!" She, Sore and Garaa (yes, _Garaa_) all shouted.

"Let's have fish and chips tomorrow night!" Emma suddenly suggested brightly, and they all laughed - and had fish and chips the following night...


	34. Reflections

All I Need To Know

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Reflections

**NIGHT OF THE FIRST DAY**

**60 HOURS REMAIN**

"Goodnight Sore-San."

"Goodnight Naruto-Kun."

"Goodnight Emma-Chan."

"Goodnight Garaa-Chan."

"Goodnight Emma-Sama."

"Goodnight Sore-San."

"Goodnight Naruto-Kun."

"Goodnight Garaa-Kun."

"Goodnight Sore-San."

"Goodnight Garaa-San."

"Goodnight Naruto-Chan."

"Goodnight Emma-Chan."

"Jeez, I feel like we're in a movie or something." Naruto commented.

"Which one?" Sore asked.

"Oh, I dunno…" Naruto shrugged. "Like, _The Swiss Family Robinson_ or something?"

"Or _Gilligan's Island_!" Emma exclaimed.

"Can we just go to bed now?" Garaa muttered.

"Why? Are you tired?" Sore smirked.

"No." Garaa stated. "I'm _homicidal_…"

_Not without _me_ he's not!_ Shukaku growled.

Kyubii laughed.

_Go to sleep you two!_ Gobi Kurasu complained form the other room.

_Go to sleep _all of you_!_ Tatsujuu snapped.

Sore and Emma went into their room, shut the door, and then climbed onto their futon mattresses (the bedside tables were so high up!).

They switched out the lights.

"Goodnight Gobi Kurasu-Tono and Tatsujuu-Sama."

"Goodnight Sore-Chama."

"Goodnight Sore-San."

"Goodnight Tatsujuu-Dono and Gobi Kurasu-Sama."

"Goodnight Emma-Chama."

"Goodnight Emma-San."

Lights out.

The two girls lay awake in the darkness.

"Sore-San?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you reckon the others will be okay in the two seconds that are happening to them?"

"Sure, Emma-Sama. I mean, what can go wrong in a hundred and twenty nano-seconds if _Naruto_ isn't there?"

"I _heard_ that!"

"Go to sleep, Baka!"

"No, _you_ go to sleep!"

There was a thump, and it sounded like Garaa had thrown his Shukaku-Plushie at Naruto.

Sore turned back to Emma, and saw her eyes were glassy in the moonlight seeping in through the windows.

"What's wrong!?" Sore exclaimed softly.

Emma sniffed. "It's just…I'm scared again, but I don't want to show it, because if I _do_, then something might go wrong. I don't want to let anyone else down."

"You never have." Sore whispered. "You gave me back the man I love more then anyone else. You won't let us down, ever."

"I…I hope not…" Emma murmured. She sighed. "I want things to work out so badly with Kankurou. But, if I die in three days, then I want to at least make up with him first."



"Emma-Sama…" Sore was genuinely and silently impressed. "Much as I _don't like_ your choice of boyfriends and much as I truly believe that he was a jerk and you can do much better then him…"

Emma's breath hitched up in her throat.

"Sorry." Sorry added. "But, no matter what I feel about _him_, I know that _you two_ can survive, just like Dosu and I did. _You_ don't actually have anything to apologise for, but if you want to make things right with Kankurou then I _know_ that nothing will _ever_ stop you from doing just that."

"Arigatoo…" Sore heard Emma murmur and, when she looked over at her, she saw that the small girl had fallen asleep, and was clutching her Tatsujuu-Plushie like she'd never let go of it.

…

That night, Naruto had a nightmare.

"_Hinata-Chan!? Hinata-Chan!?"_

"_Naruto-Chan!! Help us!!"_

"_Chou-Chou-Chan!!"_

_The Snow Queen threw both Hinata and Chou-Chou off of a cliff, and Naruto couldn't move or anything to save them._

"_No…"_

_Their battered and bloody bodies, lying dead at the bottom of the canyon…_

"_No…"_

_The regret, the feeling of helplessness – he couldn't save them!!_

"_I'M SORRY!!"_

Naruto awoke with a start, sat up on his futon, and found Garaa staring at him from a corner of the room.

Emma and Sore were stationed inside the doorway, peering in anxiously at him.

"A bad dream?" Sore whispered softly.

Naruto was drenched in sweat, and breathing heavily. "Y…yeah…" He murmured, gulping. "A…bad dream…"



Without mentioning another thing about it, the four of them 'woke up' in four different ways – Garaa just said "I am awake." Sore went and splashed cold water on her face. Emma said she had to go and cook something and, when she turned around at the bottom of the stairs, poor Naruto tripped and fell, crashing into Emma at the end of his descent, waking them both up and giving himself a blood-nose.

"Sore-San!" Emma yelled.

Sore came flying down the stairs to heal the injury, just as Garaa appeared at the top of the flight of stairs (Naruto's flight down the flight of stairs!).

Garaa announced: "Welcome to the dawn of a new day."


	35. Nothing More Then Feelings

All I Need To Know

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

Nothing More Then Feelings

**DAWN OF THE SECOND DAY**

**48 HOURS REMAIN**

"BREAKFAST IS READY!!" Emma stood at the kitchen door, and rang a triangle. "COME AND GET IT!!" She added, and three ninjas came flying into the kitchen.

"PANCAKES!!" Garaa was hyped up for some reason (might've been the blood? I know, that's _morbid_…).

"AND RAMEN!!" Naruto charged into an empty seat with much zest.

Sore decided that if you can't beat them, then _join_ them. "OMLETTE!!" She yelled, throwing herself across to where the egg-based and garden-herb dish was set.

Emma watched them with a sweatdrop. "I hope my first _flock_ doesn't act like this." She muttered, before she sat down next to Naruto (on his second bowl of noodles) and began to eat her bacon-eggs-and-cheese-on-toast.

After breakfast and everyone helped to wash up, they trooped outside, and Sore said that Gobi Kurasu told her just then that it was only half past ten.

"HALF PAST TEN!?" Naruto cried in disbelief. "I'M BO-O-ORED!!" He complained, loudly…

"Baka…" Garaa whispered, and Sore giggled.

"I know, let's talk about our friends and family, and say what we like best about each of them?" Emma suggested, thinking of Kankurou, Mari and Kai, mostly.

"Yeah!" The others agreed. They sat down on the grass, as the sky took on a dramatic coolness that put all other spectacular views to shame.

"And," Sore added. "We can pick songs for them all."

"Oh _yeah_!" Naruto exclaimed, sounding like the Genie from _Aladdin_.

"Isn't this like gossip?" Garaa wondered out-loud.

The others thought about this for a moment.

Then…

"Nah." Naruto drawled, lying down on the lawn.



"Not really." Sore added respectfully.

"It matters not." Emma stated. "Want me to make you a flower-wreath?"

"No."

"Blue and pink or blue and yellow?"

"Neither."

"I'll make it using those white Pancake Tulips over there?"

"Okay."

"I'll go first." Naruto said suddenly. "Alright, Hinata and Chou-Chou, I love more then anyone else in the world."

"Why?" Sore asked him. "And," She added. "Don't say because they're my family…"

"Actually," Naruto blushed. "Because Hinata's kind, caring and sweet, and Chou-Chou is our beautiful child and she's a miracle – she's just a wonderful child."

Sore grinned. "I agree completely. Chou-Chou _is_ gorgeous." She paused. "What about Dosu?" She asked carefully.

"Umm…eto…he's…good to you?"

"That he is." Sore agreed. "And, Ai?"

"She's tough."

"Yup."

"Now, as for everyone else, my list is…" Naruto stated. "Okay, it's:

Temari – she's our Nee-San!

Shikamaru – I guess he's carefree enough for everyone…

Kamari – he is a neat kid.

Kankurou – he's okay, a bit strange though, no offence Garaa-Kun and Emma-Chan."

"None taken."

"Well, _we're_ stranger, Naruto-Chan. We have _demons_."

"_I_ don't."

"You _used_ to, Garaa-Chan, now, let me measure your forehead, please…"

Naruto continued: "Then:

Hoshi – she seems to have changed…

Musha – she's shorter then I am!



Kiba – he's stopped saying _he'll_ be the next Hokage!

Akamaru – he's cooler then Kiba is…

Mushi – her hair looks cool!

Shino – he got that centipede off of me one time…

Sakura – she's _almost_ as pretty as Hinata and Chou-Chou…

Pinku – she can _talk_!

Lee – he's still bushy-brows!

Sasuke – he's a lot nicer to me and Itachi then he was before…

Ino – she's not so much of a biatch anymore…"

"I think she's pregnant." Sore interrupted him.

"WHAT!?" Emma and Naruto yelled.

Sore shrugged. "Just a suspicion. Naruto-Kun, go on…"

"Umm, right, where was I? Hmm…oh, yeah! Now:

Itachi – as a baby he's stopped trying to kill Sasuke, which is good…

Kisame – he's learning really fast for a kid!

Neji – he's a lot nicer to Hinata now…

Tenten – she's probably the _reason_ Neji's nicer now…

Matsuri – I think she's given up on Garaa?

Sai – I think he and Matsuri are an _item_ now…maybe…

Jaws – he can sing almost as good as Emma can!

Zaku – he's not as…course, as he was before, he's a lot calmer now…

Kin – she actually _likes_ Kai's poetry!

Kai – he stopped chasing after Temari ages ago, he loves Kin, and now they're engaged!

Mari – she's possibly just like me!

Chouji – he eats more then me, so everyone looks at him instead of teasing me!"

"_That's_ your reasons!?" Sore exclaimed. "I think those are _everyone's_ reasons, right guys?"

Emma and Garaa nodded.

"I like Kankurou because he's strong, smart, brave, handsome and kind." Emma muttered.



Everyone side-stepped this (Emma was glad) and Sore said: "Okay, now the songs!"

"Do we have to include the pets?" Naruto wondered.

"_Yes_." Emma replied testily.

"Okay, okay, sheesh…"

"Alright!" Sore said. "Let's go!"

Together, all four of them came up with:

Garaa – What I've Done by Linkin Park

Naruto – I'm Still Here from Treasure Planet

Sore – Fly by Hilary Duff

Emma – Someday by Nickelback (she even agreed to this one)

Temari – Circle In The Sand by Belinda Carlisle

Shikamaru – Sugar, We're Going Down by Fallout Boy

Kamari - I'm Just A Kid by Simple Plan

Kankurou – Lips Of An Angel by Hinder (Emma said this one, blushing)

Hoshi – I Wanna Know What Love Is by Tina Arena

Musha – Somebody For Someone by The Corrs

Kiba – Animal I Become by Three Days Grace

Akamaru – It's Rough Being A Dog by ??

Mushi – The ending theme song from _Hamtaro_

Shino – Time Of Your Life from A Bugs Life

Sakura – Cherry Blossom Epitaph by Behind Crimson Eyes

Pinku – Savin' Me by Nickelback (for the _'say it for me, say it to me'_ part)

Lee – Back On My Feet Again by Michael Bolton

Sasuke – Easier To Run by Linkin Park

Ino – This Time I Know It's For Real by The Young Divas

Itachi – Brother, My Brother from Pokemon The First Movie

Kisame – You Can Do It If You Really Try from _Pokemon_

Hinata – You Don't Even Know I'm Alive by Hilary Duff



Chou-Chou – Butterfly by Delta Goodrume

Neji – Behind Blue-Eyes by Limp Bizkit

Tenten – I'm Just A Girl by The Bachelor Girl

Matsuri – Hopelessly Addicted by The Corrs

Sai – Far Away by Nickelback

Jaws – Deepest Bluest by LL Cool-J

Zaku – Hazard by Richard Marx

Ai – Permission To Shine by The Bachelor Girl

Dosu – Blue And Yellow by The Used

Kin – Promises by Ruki Makino

Kai – Jesse's Girl by Rick Springfield

Mari – Love Will Save The Day by Des'Ree

Chouji – Rollin' by Limp Bizkit

"Hey, I just remembered something!" Emma cried, as Garaa blushed with his floral wreath, and Emma ran inside the house. The others followed her.

Emma ran to the piano in the living room.

"Where'd that come from?" Sore muttered, as Emma sat down and they sat down on the couch to listen to her.

Emma was _good_! No, she was _great_! She played by ear, and here's what she played (she knew more):

Decadence and Hell by Disturbed, Reduced To Nothingness by Serenity, Pushing Me Away and What I've Done by Linkin Park, Savin' Me by Nickelback and Untitled by Simple Plan.

"Metal to ballad," Sore commented when Emma finished playing the last song. "Very impressive."

Emma blushed.

"Come on." Garaa said, standing up. Still wearing his Pancake Tulips, he announced: "We are going swimming."

So, they went to the beach, and went surfing, built sandcastles, hunted for shells and got sunburned.

And, they had you-know-what for dinner…


	36. Rainbows

All I Need To Know

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

Why Are There So Many Songs About Rainbows?

**NIGHT OF THE SECOND DAY**

**36 HOURS REMAIN**

"I've got the marshmallows." Garaa said, holding them up.

"I've got the dipping chocolate." Sore added, stirring the warm dark liquid in the red bowl.

"I've got the Vita-Wheats and Graham Crackers." Naruto was eating some of them now.

"And I've got the hot-chocolate." Emma finished, holding up a thermostat. "Let's cook-out!"

Actually, they were 'cooking-out' in the back-yard, and they were in their PJ's. They all wore pyjama tops and bottoms. Garaa's had cows all over it and Naruto's had pigs. Sore's had chickens and Emma's had sheep-dogs.

They were a travelling farm.

"It's so peaceful out here." Sore commented, as they roasted their marshmallows which sure beat pinecones!

"Isn't it?" Emma agreed, looking around her. "It reminds me of these places back on Earth: Dunsborough, Busselton, Yallingup, my Albany, Ballingup, Bridgetown, Nannup – where Mari's Mum grew up – and the beach today?"

"Yeah?" Garaa's eyes were glittering in the 'camp-fire'.

"Well," Emma's own eyes were shining, because she loved the South-West Of Australian. "_That_ was like Prevley, and Gracetown (without the people). And Little Beach, in Albany, too." She added. "And Eaglebay, and Smith's Beach…oh, and the mountains remind me of Denmark, Mount Barker and the Porongurup Mountain Ranges…ohhh…"

"Emma-Sama, do you _miss_ Earth?" Sore suddenly said.

Emma jumped, and then stared at the fire for a moment. At last she said: "Yes…I miss _Earth_…when I was younger my 'parents' took me to Albany and Dunsborough, and we went to Bali a few times. I miss…_places_, but not really _people_." She smiled. "All the people I need in my life are with me, or will be, you know?"

Naruto left his s'more long enough to hug her.

"And," She added, when he'd sat back down again. "I would be happy being with everyone I love, even if we were living on Pluto in the freezing cold and with scarcely any oxygen."



The others laughed.

They went back to toasting and gazing around them.

"LOOK!" Naruto suddenly shrieked, making everyone jump, and Sore almost dropped her s'more.

"OH!" Emma shrieked too, when she saw it.

"Is it an aurora?" Sore breathed.

"Night-sky rainbows!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Cool." Garaa smiled.

"Kirei!" Emma squealed happily, taking a big bite of chocolate, biscuit, chocolate, marshmallows and more chocolate.

The sky was alight with waves of red, blue, pink, green, yellow, violet and white. The colours danced across the sky like magic.

"Do you think Ai can see it?" Sore asked Emma.

"Umm…" Emma was sure that Ai _couldn't_ see it.

"Oh well, _we_ can, so we'll tell everyone about it!" Sore put her arm around Emma.

"Right!" Emma grinned, and put her arm around Garaa.

Sore put her mother arm around Naruto, and they all sat there together, looking up at the night-sky rainbows, and wondering why there were so many songs about rainbows…


	37. Movie Day

All I Need To Know

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

Movie Day

**DAWN OF THE FINAL DAY**

**24 HOURS REMAIN**

After a breakfast of waffles made by Emma and Garaa, in which Naruto spilt maple syrup on Sore's dress, and she nearly killed him, they all decided to spend the day watching movies.

"One each," Sore said firmly, still pissed off about the maple syrup incident. "Because that's all we'll have time for. I want to watch _My Fair Lady_." She added.

"Awesome." Emma smiled. "I want to watch _Whisper Of The Heart_."

"I wanna watch _Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets_." Naruto nodded.

"That's my favourite." Emma told him.

"I know." Naruto grinned.

"And _I_," Garaa said flatly. "Want to watch _Freddy VS Jason_."

"Eww." Said Emma, who'd seen it before. "Let's watch that one first, get it over with."

So, they did, and Naruto hid his eyes during half of it, and Emma spoke along with half of the lines. Then they watched Harry Potter, then the Audrey Hepburn movie, followed by Emma's anime one.

"_Country Roads, kono michi…_" Emma sung along with Shizuka.

"Oh, _now_ I know why you chose this one…" Sore rolled her eyes, but everyone agreed that the movie was comforting.

Then, they realised that they had about sixteen hours left to watch movies, since they'd started this at one AM in the morning…

So, Sore chose _Blue Hawaii_ and _High School Musical Two_. Naruto picked _Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles_ and _Gone With The Wind_ (no one knew why, including 'Blondie'). Emma, keeping up with her anime-love and Disturbed-love, first chose _DBZ: Lord Slug_ (featuring the song _Fear_) and then she picked another Studio Ghibli one, called _Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind_, because Garaa said _Kiki's Delivery Service_ would remind her too much of Albany (how does Garaa know this?).



Garaa, of course, chose _Snakes On A Plane_ and _Deep Blue Sea_, both of which Emma had seen and actually _liked_. She said that Thomas Jane (Carter Blake) was a hunk.

"Kinda like Kankurou…" She blushed, and Sore grinned.

_DBS_ ended, and they went into the kitchen for tea…


	38. Nearing Completion

All I Need To Know

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

Nearing Completion

**NIGHT OF THE FINAL DAY**

**12 HOURS REMAIN**

"Twelve hours left." Sore said when tea was finished. "Come on you guys, hot-spring time!"

They all went upstairs and bathed.

"Hey, Garaa-Kun?" Naruto said, as he got ready for bed later on. "Know what I've realised 'bout all of us, 'specially Em?"

"Why don't you tell me, Naruto-Kun?"

"Well," Naruto looked totally serious for once. "All of us had a tailed-demon from birth. We were always outcasts – and yet…we were also the centre of attention, the talk of the towns. In our group of friends, Emma's always managing to take centre stage. She doesn't do it on purpose, but that's what happens."

Garaa stared at Naruto in shock. Then, he just shook his head. "Your absolutely fucking right." He said, and Naruto blinked.

"Sorry, I was just shocked, I just said it because." Garaa responded plainly. "See you in the morning."

"Yup, g'night." Naruto said, feeling confused, and apprehensive of what would come…


	39. Fight To The Finish

All I Need To Know

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

Fight To The Finish

Baki came and got them just after midnight, and they were all ready.

As soon as he snapped his fingers again, they were standing in the room they'd been in before, and it really was only two seconds later.

"Where'd you go!?" Sakura shrieked.

"Two seconds you were gone, and now you're back, what's goin' on there?" Ino cried.

Emma glanced suspiciously at her belly, saw nothing, and then said: "It is time."

The Snow-Queen was building up her energy. Darkness flew all around her, as she screamed: "I AM GOING TO DESTROY YOU!!"

Quickly, Emma, Garaa, Naruto and Sore grabbed hands, as Hoshi ran up to them.

"I am ready." She said, and Raven appeared too, looking determined.

"TATSUJUU!"

"KYUBII!"

"GOBI KURASU!"

"SHUKAKU!"

The world shook, and the Snow-Queen yelled: "I CANNOT LET YOU LIVE!"

"Mum…" Hoshi whispered, a tear falling from her cheek. Then, she snapped, and yelled: "I MUST PROTECT EVERYONE!!"

…

NARUTO

_For years, all I ever wanted was to be someone everyone respected…I wanted to be important…now, by doing what I'm doing today…I think I can be…_

_Are you ready, Kyubii-Dono? Let's do this together…_

…

SORE

_I thought I'd lost so much, but really I had everything…I cherish all of my friends, and I have no regrets about doing this to save them all…the last remaining Kaguya Clan member dies today…_

_Are you ready, Gobi Kurasu-Tono? Don't look back…_

…

GARAA

_Thought I'd lost this affliction forever…but, somehow, even though I have it back, it's not a bloodlust that's driving me to kill today…it's a will to protect the lives of others…_

_Are you ready, Shukaku-Dono? Because I won't hold back anymore…_

…

EMMA

_This is too soon…I never got to…well, if it has to end again, this time maybe for good…I'm glad I can save you all, especially you, my Kanky-Chan…I love you…_

_Are you ready, Tatsujuu-Dono? Because _I_ am…_

…

"POWERS OF THE TAILED-DEMONS THAT AFFLICTED US! UNITE TO DESTROY THE ULTIMATE EVIL!"

"Empower the Five-Tailed Crow!"

"Empower the Nine-Tailed Fox!"

"Empower the One-Tailed Tanuki!"

"Empower the Ten-Tailed Dragon! Unite!"

(Give me the strength to carry on…)

"NOOOO!!" The Snow-Queen shouted.

"Mother, it's over!" Hoshi and Raven yelled, as white light glowed around their chests. "It ends here!"

The Inner-Struggle…

As everything was blown up…

Pain became a Stop.

Sadness became Joy.



Fear became Hope.

Dire became Lucky. (For someone to get a Golden Crystal…)

Hatred became Love.

And…Deceit became TRUST…

"AAUURRGGHH!!" Everyone screamed, as their world went white, and pain hurt them for one second, until they felt no more…

…

IN THEIR MINDS…

_Hoshi-Chan? Raven-Chan?_

_M…Mamma?_

_Mother…_

_I am so sorry my darlings. I am sorry I did not save your sisters, and I am sorry I let the evil control me to do everything I must have done to you all. Can you ever forgive me?_

_Yes._

_Good._

_Where are you going?_

_Somewhere where I can begin again, Hoshi-Chan._

_Will you be okay?_

_I hope so, Raven-Chan. Hopefully; Raikko and I can live peacefully, and without fear. The master whom told your Father to kill Yumi, Hoshi-Chan, was the evil within me. You two and the four chosen ones have destroyed it for good now._

_Yes…but, I also must die now…_

_Raven-Chan! No!_

_I have to, Hoshi-Chan. Emma, Garaa, Sore and Naruto _can't _live if I don't give them my energy and Chakra. They're too weak to hold on, they're dying._

_I…I understand…but…who do I have left? You're going, Mummy and Daddy are going…_

_You still have Musha and Mushi, my daughter. Take care of them._

_I…I will…_

_And Garaa, don't forget him. You sued to like his brother, you know…_

_I…I remember…I did some pretty bad things too…but…I love Garaa…he helped me, even when I was always so wrong…_

_Yes, my children. At last everyone will see…the gifts of friendship, love and trust…can never fade away…_


	40. Jump Forward In Time…

All I Need To Know

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

Jump Forward In Time…

MEG: Hey, look, I wrote a lot more for this but the computer's just deleted it, so we're skipping!!

A week later…

Everyone forgave, but no one forgot.

And, Emma and Hoshi were still expected to compete in Konoha Idol's final round.

So, they sang a duet. Onstage, in their red and golden dresses:

_She, won't get off the phone, she won't leave me alone  
When I'm talking to that guy  
She, can be a real nightmare, gets me to do her hair  
And says it never turns out right  
But then I put on a face, she can tell  
Cause she knows me so well_

Chorus  
Closer than my closest friend, someone who will be there till the end  
My sister, sister  
Deeper than the deepest sea, no one loves you like your family  
My sister, sister

She, reads my diary, she borrows clothes from me  
And I never get them back again  
And she (and she), locks the bath room door, says five minutes more  
And an hour later i'm still not in  
And sometimes we fight, every family does (oh yeah)  
But that can't change our love

Closer than my closest friend, someone who will be there till the end  
My sister, sister  
Deeper than the deepest sea, no one loves you like a family  
My sister, sister

To celebrate the good times, to help me through the hard times  
To bring me down to earth, remind me what's important  
And who comes first? Who comes first?  


_Gotta tell me who I'm talking 'bout  
My sister, sister  
(Oh yeah) and who comes first? Ain't no doubt about it  
My sister, sister_

She, watches out for me, I know she'l always be  
By my side (by my side)

Closer than my closest friend, someone who will be there till the end  
My sister, sister  
Deeper than the deepest sea, no one loves you like a family  
My sister, sister  
Closer than friend, someone who will be there till the end  
My sister, sister  
Deeper than the deepest sea, no one loves you like a family  
My sister, sister

Everyone was surprised and pleased, especially Kankurou and he cheered loudest of all.

Emma and Hoshi, with their arms around one-another, turned towards the judges with tears running down their smiling faces.

Kakashi said: "Everyone voted…that you should both win! We have two idols this years! Congratulations!" He added, just like Babbo.

Emma and Hoshi were silently staring at each other for a moment, before screaming so loudly and hugging.

Yes, Emma forgave Hoshi.

…

If you didn't already know, Musha and Kiba, and Mushi and Shino just got engaged!!

…

"Thanks for forgiving me…" Hoshi said, as she and Garaa watched the party from afar. "Even though I'm a bitch and all…"

"Yeah…eto…Hoshi-Chan…"



"Garaa-Chan I love you!"

They both turned red then, but Garaa suddenly pulled a gold ring with a black sapphire from his pocket.

"My favourite stone…" Hoshi whispered.

"Marry me?" He asked her.

Her reply was to kiss him, and the kiss lasted about a minute and a half.

"I can't believe I just loved you now…" Hoshi whispered.

"I love you…" Garaa realised.

They kissed again. Two insomniacs? What a couple!

…

_If I don't ask her now, I'll never get to!_ Kankurou grabbed Emma, just as they were about to walk away from the lake by the hotel and back to the party (yes, they were returned to Shing City).

Kankurou thrust his hand into his pocket, Emma suddenly reached underneath of her robes. Kankurou pulled a rose-gold band out of his pocket, and Emma lifted _another_ rose-gold band from a chain around her neck.

Kankurou stared at it. "M…my Father…"

Emma nodded. "When he died, he came to me in a dream and gave it to me, telling me to give it to the man I truly loved and trusted. When I woke up, the ring was on this chain around my neck. I never told anyone, or let them see it, but I've kept it with me up until now."

"This…was my Mother's…" Kankurou stared at the ring in his hand. "She…she wrote me a letter in a box, and I found it when _I_ was fourteen…she told me to give it to the woman I loved and trusted the most…it's _you_, Emi-Chan…"

"Will you marry me!?" They both cried at the same time.

Then…

"_Yes_!"

They laughed, and hugged, and then kissed.

A kiss of love and trust, it was…


	41. I Do X A Lot

All I Need To Know

CHAPTER FORTY

I Do X A Lot

Walking down the aisle, throwing away the 'double-wedding' idea and plan, was:

Garaa and Hoshi, Mari and Chouji, Kai and Kin, Temari and Shikamaru, Neji and Tenten, Naruto and Hinata, Sai and Matsuri, Ino and Sasuke, Lee and Sakura, Kiba and Musha, Mushi and Shino, Ai and Zaku, Dosu and Sore and Emma and Kankurou. All the men wore black suits and the girls wore white dresses.

Itachi and Kisame, in grey suits, were the ring-bearers, and Kamari in a light blue suit was the ring-bearer. Yumi and Chou-Chou in matching frilly pink dresses were the co-flower-girls. Kiba's sister were bridesmaids (yup, you could get Kiba's sister into a blue dresse) and, in a yellow dress, was the maid of honour, Hinata's sister.

Groomsmen, ushers and the best man accompanied everyone.

And, Anko was babysitting! For whom?

Well, for starter, there was Sasuke and Ino's baby girl, Saria. Then, Temari and Shikamaru's second child, another boy called Teru. Then, Sore and Dosu had twin girls, called Aki and Aoi, and Sakura and Lee had a baby boy called Jackie.

Emma looked at Kankurou as they all cut the fifty-tier cake.

They had been taking care of everyone else's kids happily for some time now, but…


	42. Sorry, Sorry, Sorry!

All I Need To Know

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

Sorry, Sorry, Sorry!!

Garaa went away with Hoshi for awhile.

One thing Kankurou had to do for temporarily taking over his brother's Kazekage duties, was to Christen a flying-boat.

Everyone in Suna showed up, as Kankurou waved to them, and held a bottle of Sake in his hand.

"Uh…Kanky-Chan…" Emma was standing next to him. She was 'late' and now she had to tell him…

"Not now, Emi-Chan, I'm Christening the boat…" He told her.

"But…Kanky-Chan…" She muttered.

Temari, Shikamaru, Kamari and Teru suddenly showed up.

"WHAT, EMI-CHAN!? WHAT!? Kankurou shouted.

"I'M PREGNANT!!" She yelled back.

"Oh…" Kankurou went pale, and stared at her. "That's…that's _great_, honey, _really_…umm…"

"Don't lie!" Emma exclaimed.

"Emi-Chan…"

The boat suddenly set sail then, 'sailing' away over the sand dunes.

"Oh fuck!" Kankurou cried, and threw the bottle after the boat.

The bottle of Sake hit the boat, and went right through it. The boat started to 'sink' into the sand dunes. The sails caught fire, and everybody was staring at Kankurou.

"Garaa's gonna _kill_ me…" He muttered.

…

Well, Garaa _didn't_ kill Kankurou, because Kankurou was going to be a Dad.

Meanwhile…



Well, Emma and the other kunoichi had a sleep-over at Temari's new place, so all of the onmitsu were stuck baby-sitting back at Kankurou's place.

Hinata and Naruto had a second child called Naruto Jr..

Sasuke and Ino had another girl called Terra.

Ai and Zaku had twins, a boy and a girl called Ai Jr. and Makoto.

Then, Kai and Kin had twins as well, two boys called Zak and Ito.

Matsuri and Sai had a baby girl called Arukia.

Chouji and Mari had a baby boy called Juno, followed by a baby girl called Ran.

Neji and Tenten had a baby girl called Rilee, and Tenten was pregnant again, Emma was hoping for a boy but everyone agreed with her when she said healthy was happy.

Mushi and Shino had a baby boy called Shinji.

Musha and Kiba had a baby girl called Runa, followed by a second baby girl called Kiri.

Hoshi and Garaa had twin baby girls, called Robyn and Raven.

Kankurou was wondering whether he should call Emma or not, when the phone rang, and Neji answered it.

"Oh." They heard him say. "Oh, _really_…yeah, we're on our way." He hung up, turned to the others, and picked up his coat and keys. "Come on." He said, with strange calmness. "That was Tenten. We're going to the hospital."

"Why!?" Kankurou cried.

"Emma just went into labour. You're a Dad. Congratulations."

…

"You're okay!" Kankurou hugged Emma when he was allowed to go into her room.

"Yes." She said tiredly. "And, so are…" She pointed, and Kankurou crept over to a humi-crib, where lay…three babies.

"Which one's ours?" He asked, confused.

Emma chuckled softly. "They _all_ are, darling. I had triplets."

"Oh fuck…"

"Don't swear, because they pick up on it…"

"They're…as beautiful as what you are, my dear…"



"The two boys I've decided to name Ozymandias and Kankurou Jr.." Emma whispered. "And, the girl is, eto…"

"Emma Jr.." Kankurou said firmly. He smiled down at his three children. "Welcome to this world, little ones…" He whispered softly.

…

AND THIS IS ABSOLUTELY THE END!! CRIES MEG!! FINISHED!!

**THE END**


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